The Blue Wizard and the Chamber of Secrets
by CSIalchemist
Summary: Rin and Yukio return to Hogwarts for their second year, but something evil is lurking within the school. Students are being Petrified left and right and all evidence points to Harry Potter. What is attacking the students? Is it a monster? A demon? Or something else?
1. Letters

**As promised, here's Year 2! Updates are gonna be kind of slow because I'm moving into a new condo. Nonetheless, I'm very eager to start this. I've got a lot of ideas for this. **

**Sorry to those who've already favored/followed the story. I goofed on the title and couldn't fix it unless I took the whole story down. My bad!  
**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Letters**

Twelve-year-old Rin Okumura was busy with a huge project that he'd been working on for the past twenty minutes. He had been creating what would be (in his opinion) the world's greatest banana split. He'd split the banana in half, one for each side of the biggest bowl he could find in the Southern Cross Boys' Monastery. One giant scoop of each flavor of ice cream in the freezer (pistachio, cookies and cream, caramel fudge brownie, vanilla, cookie dough, and strawberry), chocolate syrup, a six-inch pile of whipped cream, and rainbow sprinkles. Rin was currently on a footstool, dangling a maraschino cherry over his frozen dairy masterpiece. He had to place it on top perfectly, otherwise the cherry would be off and it wouldn't look right. Almost there…

_CRASH!_

Rin jumped, dropping the cherry, which landed near the bottom of the whipped cream. A tick mark appeared on his head, frustrated that something interrupted his work and he was unable to use magic to fix it. Rin might seem like an ordinary boy, but he was actually a wizard who went to a magic school in Europe. Unfortunately, since he was underage, he was forbidden by law from using his magic outside of school until he was seventeen (not that it would do much good since his magic would most likely melt his banana split).

Rin hopped off his footstool to investigate the source of the noise that interrupted his work. It came from the kitchen window. He looked out and saw what looked like an old feather duster lying on the ground.

"Yukio! Check out what crashed into the kitchen window!" Rin called out to his twin brother.

A boy with brown hair, teal eyes with glasses, and moles on his face entered the kitchen, a manga comic book in his hands.

"What is it?" asked Rin's twin brother Yukio.

"I don't know," said Rin. "It looks like something a pillow threw up."

"I'll go see what it is. Put that banana split in the freezer before it melts," Yukio instructed.

As Rin put his ruined masterpiece away, his brother went outside to retrieve the feathery creature. When he came back in, he held it up in one hand. It was clear now that it was a really old owl.

Rin scrunched up his face at the bird. "Is it dead?" he asked.

Yukio shook his head no. "It's still breathing, barely," he said with uncertainty. "It's also carrying a letter, so it must have been from one of our friends from Hogwarts."

Rin's eyes widened at the thought of one of their friends from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry writing to them. He had wanted to write to them throughout the summer but had no idea where Tokyo's version of Diagon Alley was located. He felt bad for not looking for it, but Tokyo was the largest city in the world. One could easily get lost if they didn't know where they were going.

"Who's it from?" Rin asked eagerly. "One of your Ravenclaw friends? Harry, Ron, or Hermione?"

"I doubt it's from Harry since his owl Hedwig is a snowy owl," Yukio said as he detached the letter from the comatose owl's leg. He opened the letter and read it. "It's Ron's family owl, Errol. Ron's inviting us to come visit this summer."

"Lemme see!" Rin cried as he snatched the letter from his brother's hands. He recognized Ron Weasley's scrawl along with the occasional inkblots that dotted the parchment:

_Hey Rin and Yukio!_

_How is your summer so far? Sorry about Errol, our owl. He's ancient and it wouldn't be the first time he's collapsed during a delivery. I wanted to use Percy's owl Hermes but he's been holed up in his room all summer and refuses to share him._

_Anyway, things back in Europe have been alright. Things are pretty boring at my house. Do you two still want to come over? My mum actually wants your dad to come too. I asked Mum how she knew your dad, but all she said was that she met him through my late uncles._

_Let me know if you can come over. _

_Ron_

_P.S. I know this is a long shot, but have either of you been in contact with Harry? I swear, I've written to him five times and I've gotten no reply. Hermione can't reach him either. Maybe his Muggle relatives won't let him answer… _

Rin looked at his brother, eyes sparkling at the thought of returning to the wizarding world. Yukio, while excited, looked at the owl, Errol, sleeping on the table.

"Even if Dad says yes, we can't use Ron's owl. Look at him," he said.

Rin looked at the snoozing owl and nodded. "Yeah, if we used him now, I doubt he'd make it out of the city limits," he agreed.

~0~0~0~

Shiro walked into the house after blessing a homeowner's new home and saw Rin and Yukio run up to him. Both of them were talking at the same time. He didn't understand what exactly they were saying but he was pretty sure he heard "owl" and "Ron" in all of that racket.

"Boys! BOYS!" Shiro yelled. "One at a time! What's going on?"

"Our friend from Hogwarts, Ron, invited us to his house," said Rin.

"But we can't answer him because the owl he used looks like it's practically dead," Yukio added.

Shiro raised his eyebrows. "Ron? You mean Ron Weasley, your red-haired friend?" he asked for clarity. Both boys nodded and Shiro smiled. "Well, by all means! We can go visit him and his family until school starts. But why can't you use his owl? What happened to him?"

"I think the flight wore him out, but Ron said that he does that a lot," said Rin.

"He's a really old owl," Yukio added. Rin held up the bird, still fast asleep, by its leg.

Shiro gripped his chin in thought. "Well, this presents a problem," he muttered. He then studied the owl dangling in Rin's hand. "You sure he's not dead?"

"He's still breathing," Rin assured.

"Let's let him rest for a few days before you write back," Shiro suggested.

~0~0~0~

_Dear Ron,_

_Rin and I are happy to come stay with you and your family for the rest of the summer. Dad says that he'll come too. _

_Tokyo's been pretty quiet too. It would help if we knew where Japan's version of Diagon Alley was located, then we could write back to you more often._

_Sorry for taking so long to reply. Your owl looked half-dead when he arrived._

_Yukio_

_P.S. No, neither of us have heard from Harry all summer. I understand that none of you are able to write to us. Japan is pretty far from England, after all._

~0~0~0~

They waited a week for Errol to recover. He slept in a tree in the backyard. Tadashi Misumi, one of the monastery's priests, kept the owl well fed and cared for thanks to the bird feeders and bird bath he always tended to. When it was time for Errol to send his mail to Ron, however, he refused to leave.

"Come on, Errol! You've gotta send Yukio's letter to Ron," Rin pleaded to the old bird. Errol, who was munching on a dead rat that he brought back for lunch, gave Rin a deadpanned look before returning to his meal.

A tick mark appeared on Rin's head. "I'm gonna tell Ron about this if you don't do it," he threatened. Errol turned his back on Rin and raised his tail feathers, as if to say "Go away!"

Rin gave the bird a dark look. "My cat Kuro can eat birds bigger than you."

Errol jumped in fright and grabbed the envelope from Rin's hand and flew away. Rin gave himself a satisfied smile. He knew that Kuro was a cat sithe, but he didn't know the extent of the demonic cat's abilities.

~0~0~0~

It had been three weeks since Errol's visit. Rin and Yukio knew that the owl's flight back would take awhile, but they were getting worried that he never made it. Shiro told them to be patient since Errol was old and probably had to stop often to rest.

The twins entered their house, one afternoon, covered in dirt, grime, and blood. Reiji Shiratori and his gang once again got into a fight with Rin and Yukio. The bullies ambushed them while they were walking home from the movie theater. Both the twins and the bullies suffered injuries, the worst being two bloody noses and a busted lip.

"Just goes to show how much of a jerkwad Reiji can be," Rin said, plugging his nose to stop the bleeding.

"I think stepping on my glasses was his lowest moment," Yukio said, holding said pair of glasses with cracked lenses.

"Why do you think I punched him in the gut?" Rin replied. He then spat something out of his mouth. "What do you know? Another tooth gone."

"One more to go," said Yukio. "I wonder if there's a spell that can straighten your teeth. That could save us lots of money on braces."

_CRASH!_

Rin and Yukio ran into the living room and saw a huge cloud of dust and soot coming out of their fireplace.

"What the hell was that?" Rin asked.

"Hello?" Yukio called out nervously.

Another crash followed, making another dust cloud. The carpet in the living room was going to need to be shampooed at this rate.

Shiro ran into the living room. "What in God's name is going on?" he asked in alarm.

Coughing could be heard from the fireplace. "Hello? Is this Southern Cross Boys' Monastery?" a voice called out.

Shiro slowly walked in front of the twins, in case this person was a threat. "Yes. Who's there?"

"Rin? Yukio?" a familiar voice called out.

"Ron?" the twins called out. The dust cloud cleared up. Sure enough, a boy Rin and Yukio's age became visible. He had red hair, freckles, tall, and lanky. This was Ron Weasley, one of Rin and Yukio's first friends at Hogwarts.

Alongside Ron was a tall, thin man who was balding but still had enough hair for Shiro and the twins to see that he had the same shade of red as Ron.

Ron's face brightened at the sight of his two friends. "'Bout time I saw you two. I wrote back to you guys two weeks ago and you never responded," he said.

Shiro held up a sleeping Errol, a letter attached to his leg. "We just got your letter," he said. "Literally crashed into my study window a minute ago." Ron frowned in annoyance as he approached the priest and took the owl.

"Bloody hell, Errol," Ron grumbled.

Ron's father brushed himself off as best he could before he greeted everyone. "I apologize for dropping in so suddenly," he greeted cheerfully. "Our owl is not used to flying such long distances."

Shiro smiled. "No worries. The carpet needed to be cleaned anyway."

Ron's father approached Shiro and shook his hand. "It's been too long, Shiro Fujimoto. Haven't seen you since Fred and George were toddlers," he said.

"You're a machine, Arthur Weasley! Seven kids! How did you do it?" Shiro asked with a smirk on his face.

Ron's father, Arthur, turned bright red. "Just lucky, I guess," he mumbled.

Shiro laughed out loud. "I'm just messing with you, Arthur. No harm done!"

Arthur then took a moment to look around the room. "Is this where you live, Shiro? I thought a monastery was a home for priests and other people of your profession."

As the adults talked, Rin and Yukio took the time to catch up with Ron.

"What's with our dads?" asked Rin. "Do they know each other?"

"I thought Dad just knew your mom," Yukio added. "I didn't know he knew your dad too."

"Yeah, when I got home after the year ended, Mum told Dad that she'd met your dad and they both got excited," Ron explained. "I asked them how they knew him, and they said that he'd helped the wizarding world fight demons."

"Dad's gonna have to tell us more about his days in the wizarding world," Yukio told Rin.

"How did your dad know about our world anyway?" asked Ron.

"He was checking out an abandoned warehouse when two wizards and a witch showed up and were attacked by ghoul demons," Rin answered.

Ron then got a good look at the twins. "Speaking of attacked, what happened to you two? You're a mess," he observed.

Yukio started straightening himself out. "We were ambushed by local bullies," he simply explained.

"Happens to us a lot," Rin added.

"You more than me," Yukio said to his brother who glared back at him.

Ron saw Yukio's broken glasses in his hands and turned to his father. "Dad, can you fix Yukio's glasses?" he asked.

The two adults turned in the children's direction. Arthur smiled and took out his wand. "Certainly. May I see them?" he asked. Yukio handed the man his glasses. Arthur tapped them with his wand. "_Oculus Reparo_," he recited. Just like that, the cracks on the lenses slowly vanished until they were no more. Yukio put his glasses back on and saw that they were as good as new.

"Thanks!"

Arthur smiled. "You're very welcome…?"

"Oh! I'm Yukio Okumura and this is my twin brother, Rin."

Rin smiled. "Hi!"

"A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Arthur Weasley, Ron's father," he greeted, shaking both their hands.

"Nice to meet you too," said Yukio.

The man nodded. "Well since we're here, do you still wish to come visit us?" Arthur suggested. "The letter we wrote said that we'd pick you lot up today, but if you still need time…"

Rin and Yukio looked at Shiro.

"Can we go now, Dad?" Rin pleaded.

"Please?" Yukio added.

Shiro smiled. "Alright. You two can go. I'll come along later. I need to let the others know where we'll be for the next few weeks."

"Yes!" All three boys cheered, pumping their fists.

"Follow us, Ron. You can help us pack," said Yukio.

* * *

**Tell me what you think! Am I off to a nice start? I hope so. It's not as lengthy as the beginning as Year 1, but I still like how this came out. I'm getting everything settled, in this story and in real life. Like I said, I'm currently moving into a new condo, so updates are gonna be kind of slow. Don't worry, the second chapter is currently under construction.**

**Let me know if you're interested in making fanart. I'd like to see what you guys come up with.**

**Make sure to review! The rules apply for this story too: NO REVIEWS MEANS NO UPDATES!**


	2. The Burrow

**Not as long as I wanted, but it'll have to do. I blame the move. Can't really come up with ideas when you're moving into a new home.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**The Burrow**

_CRASH!_

Rin crash landed into the Burrow's fireplace. He stood up and started brushing soot off his clothes while coughing said soot out of his lungs.

"Are you… Rin?" a woman's voice asked. Rin looked up and saw a short, plump woman come towards him with a small brush.

Rin nodded. "Yeah, I'm Rin."

The woman smiled. "Oh, good! Ron told me you had a twin brother. I wanted to make sure I didn't mistake you for the other. Happens to me with Fred and George all the time," she ranted before catching herself. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Molly Weasley, Ron's mother."

Rin smiled as Molly started brushing the rest of the soot off his shoulders. "That's okay. You got it right."

Yukio crashed into the kitchen next. Like his first time with Floo Powder, Yukio was swirly-eyed and dizzy. His glasses were also missing, which Rin assumed Shiro had in his possession.

Molly then went over to the mole-faced boy. "And you must be Yukio," she greeted as she started brushing soot and ash off his shoulders.

"Yes, ma'am," Yukio coughed.

Ron followed soon after with Errol tucked away in his shirt (since he didn't have a cage with him).

"Oh, good, Ron. You have Errol," Molly said as she moved on to her son.

"He showed up by the time we did!" Ron complained.

"Well, that's the last time we send him on long distance deliveries," Molly declared.

"Sorry," Rin and Yukio said simultaneously.

Molly smiled warmly to the twins. "It's not your fault, dears," she assured them. "I'll talk to Percy about using Hermes for your letters."

Arthur then came in through the fireplace with Rin's luggage in tow. Shiro followed several minutes later. As soon as Molly was finished with the boys, she moved towards the men and started cleaning them up.

"Shiro! It's so good to see you again," Molly greeted the Japanese priest.

Shiro coughed some soot out of his lungs. "Molly. Good to see you too," he greeted back before coughing again. "No matter how many times I travel like that, it never gets better."

Molly giggled. "You always hated traveling with Floo Powder."

Shiro smirked. "Still do."

A set of red-haired twins entered the kitchen.

"Thought we heard visitors," one twin said.

"We recognized their voices too," said the other.

Rin smiled as he recognized them. "Hi Fred, George!" he greeted.

One twin, Fred, smiled. "Well, if it isn't our young friend, Rin."

"Glad you're here to visit us," said George.

"Ready to have some fun?" they asked at the same time.

Molly frowned. "You two better not include Rin and Yukio in your schemes!"

~0~0~0~

The two families were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner a few nights later (Shiro and the twins needed time to recover from their jetlag). Rin and Yukio slept in Ron's room while Shiro used Charlie's old room.

"So, how did you meet Mum and Dad?" asked Percy (this was one of the few instances he emerged from his room).

Shiro swallowed his sukiyaki (made by Rin and Molly) before answering. "You can thank your uncles for that," he answered.

"Uncle Fabian?" asked Fred.

"And Uncle Gideon?" asked George.

Shiro nodded. "It's also when I met you two for the first time."

"US?" the Weasley twins repeated incredulously.

"You met us all before?" asked Ron.

"You and Ginny weren't born yet," said Shiro.

"I distinctly remember them dragging you into our house one night, drunk as can be," Arthur recalled. "Not a very good first impression to me and Molly."

"You're lucky the children were asleep when you passed out on our couch," said Molly.

Shiro was smiling as innocently as possible. Rin, Ron, Yukio, and Ginny were trying hard not to laugh at the story.

Percy looked down at his plate, deep in thought. "It's vague, but now that I think about it, I think I remember finding someone asleep on the couch one morning when I was little," he recalled.

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah, that was me…"

~0~0~0~

_Three red-haired boys stared at the strange priest passed out on their couch. He smelled strongly of alcohol. Their uncles said they went out for drinks last night and brought him home so he could recover._

"_Bill, Charlie, Percy, leave the poor man be and come eat breakfast," said Molly as she wiped oatmeal from her face (courtesy of little Fred and George)._

"_What's he doing here, Mum?" asked Bill as he and his brothers sat at the kitchen table._

"_Your Uncles Gideon and Fabian brought him in late last night," Molly said in annoyance. "Why they brought him _here _of all places is beyond me." She gave her sons their own bowls of oatmeal. "Do not disturb him. I want you all to play quietly either in your rooms or outside."_

_"Yes, Mum."_

_As soon as the boys finished their meals, they went to their bedrooms to quietly play (Fred and George went down for their morning naps). Molly went outside to tend to the garden. She got down on her hands and knees and started weeding, using a spell to pull them out from the root. She then turned her attention to her hydrangeas when she noticed a hideous mushroom. She tried using the weeding spell, but it didn't budge. Frustrated, Molly pulled out the mushroom with her hands, but three more sprouted in its place. A tick mark appeared on Molly's head as she pulled them out, but more popped up. One of them started growing bigger and bigger until it was as big as Molly. Cuts appeared on the cap, forming a face._

"Stupefy!" _she recited with a flick of her wand. A bright light shot out and hit the mushroom. Nothing happened. Panicking, Molly grabbed her spade and stabbed the mushroom. Black spores erupted from the fungus and into her face. Little mushrooms started sprouting on her face, neck, and arms._

_Molly was truly becoming afraid for her life. "He-Help!" she cried. "Somebody!"_

_A pitchfork suddenly flew past Molly and landed deeply into the giant mushroom that was now twice Molly's height. More black spores spurted out of the monster._

"_What a pain in the ass," a gruff voice said. "When I get back to the Vatican, I'm going to propose we reopen the Magic Branch."_

_Molly turned and saw that the strange priest was walking into the garden with a gardening hoe on his shoulder. The old crossbow from the tool shed was strapped to his back. Through his glasses, Molly could tell that there were bags under his bloodshot eyes. _

"_I can't even sleep off a hangover without someone getting into trouble," the priest growled._

"_P-P-Please! Help me!" Molly pleaded. "Nothing is working!"_

_The priest tossed the gardening hoe to Molly and then pulled the crossbow off his back. "Give me an opening, so I can finish it off," he said._

_Molly ripped a mushroom off her cheek and nodded. She charged towards the giant mushroom and swung the hoe at it. The blade sunk into the cap and more black spores spurted out. The priest fired the crossbow at the mushroom. To Molly's surprise, the mushroom exploded. The priest loaded the crossbow again and fired at the other mushrooms. He did this again and again until all the mushrooms were gone._

_The priest then approached Molly and started to gently pulling the mushrooms off her body._

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. He shall bestow you life and happiness! Praise be the name of the Lord!" _he recited. Black spores spurted out of the mushrooms and they poofed away._

_Molly felt her face, neck, and arms and realized that she was mushroom-free. She then smiled at the priest._

"_Thank you so much," she said gratefully._

_The priest pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't mention it. Now, you wouldn't happen to know a spell or something that can cure a hangover, would you?" he said._

~0~0~0~

"So that's how you met Father Fujimoto, Mum?" asked Ron.

"Officially, yes," said Molly. "My opinion of him changed that day."

"Blessed our house that day too," Arthur added. "Haven't seen a demon at the Burrow since."

"How did you kill that demon with only gardening tools and a crossbow?" asked Percy. "Don't you need special equipment for that?"

Shiro chuckled. "I unscrewed the top of a holy water grenade I had and poured the water over the crossbow bolts," he explained. "Easy makeshift ammunition."

"Didn't you have a… what do you call it? A gun?" asked Arthur.

Shiro shrugged. "And scare the kids in the house? You have no idea how loud guns are."

"I've never seen a demon," said Ginny.

Shiro smiled. "If you ever get a temptaint, you'll be able to see them," he said.

Ron, Rin and Yukio averted their eyes from each other. They all remembered how Ron received his temptaint from an infant dragon. Only Harry and Hermione knew about it. None of them knew how to explain to the adults how the children came across a dragon without getting the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, in trouble.

~0~0~0~

Rin, Ginny, Fred, and George were watching Ron and Yukio play a rather intense game of wizard's chess when Arthur came home one evening looking rather troubled.

"Everything alright, Arthur?" Shiro asked.

"I just heard some interesting gossip at work today," Arthur answered. "Apparently Harry Potter used a Hovering Charm in front of some Muggles."

The four boys and girl turned in Arthur's direction upon hearing this news.

"Harry did what?!"

"That doesn't sound like him!"

"Why would Harry use magic?"

"I don't believe it!"

"He knows not to do underage magic!"

Shiro stepped in. "Settle down! Let the man talk!"

Arthur cleared his throat. "Thank you, Shiro. Now, this is just what I've heard during lunch today. It's just as I said. The other day, Harry supposedly used a Hovering Charm in front of the Muggles he's living with," he explained.

Rin, Ron, and Yukio readily frowned at that. Harry had told them before that his Muggle relatives were awful people and that they treated him like dirt. Rin wanted to knock a few of Harry's cousin's teeth out for his harsh treatment toward his friend.

Molly twisted a dish towel in her hands anxiously. "I do hope he's alright. He was such a sweet boy when we met him last year, so polite," she said.

"We could try writing to him. Hear his side of the story," Shiro suggested.

"I'll do just that," said Arthur as he went to find Errol.

As soon as the adults went about their business, the children started talking amongst themselves.

"I refuse to believe that Harry used magic!" Rin declared.

"This has to be some kind of misunderstanding," Yukio added.

"I agree," Ron concurred.

"Poor Harry," said Ginny. "I hope everything is alright."

"Harry's taken on You-Know-Who twice now," said George.

"He can take on his Muggle relatives," added Fred.

"How? He's not allowed to use magic," said Yukio.

The six children sat and thought about better solutions the adults were thinking of doing. Fred suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed. "We can rescue him ourselves!"

"What?!" Rin, Ron, Ginny, and Yukio exclaimed.

"How?" asked Yukio.

George then snapped his fingers. "Dad's flying car!" he declared.

"Say what?" said Rin.

"You have a car. That can fly," said Yukio in a deadpanned tone of voice. He released a sigh and stood up, abandoning the chess game. "Well, I'm out. I'm not getting involved in this crazy scheme. I won't say anything to the parents, but you need to quit now while you're ahead." He then left the room. Ginny soon followed.

Rin then looked at the Weasley brothers skeptically. "Do you guys really have a _flying car_?" he asked.

"Dad enchanted it," said Fred.

"Tinkered with it, he did," said George.

"Not only can it fly…"

"It can also become invisible so Muggles won't be able to see it."

Rin blinked at how in synch Fred and George were. He and Yukio had their moments, but they were nowhere near as good as the Weasley twins.

He shook his head and got back to the problem at hand. "So, what's the plan?"

* * *

**If you recall, Molly Weasley had two brothers named Gideon and Fabian who were killed by several Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Moody even said that it took quite a few to beat them and they went down fighting. If I recall correctly, they were killed before Voldemort's downfall. I won't be including them interacting with the characters in the flashbacks because I don't know who they were or what they were like when they were alive. They'll just be mentioned several times.**

**Moving on, if you guys are wondering why Yukio refuses to take part in the flying car rescue, it's because the idea of a magical flying car just seemed ridiculous in his mind.**

**Please, please, PLEASE review! With how successful the first story was, I was kind of hoping there would be more reviews (thank you to the ones who did review! You're what keeps this story alive!).**


	3. Jailbreak

**Sorry this took so long. I finally finished moving into my condo but I had to wait a week to get Internet and then another week to finish this chapter! Whew!**

**Not sure when the next chapter will be up. Probably as late as January.**

**Happy Holidays!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Jailbreak**

Rin's eyes glittered in wonder as he stared out the window of the Ford Anglia flying through the night sky. This beat flying in an airplane by a longshot!

"How are you liking it, Rin?" asked Fred.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" Rin yelled as he stuck his head out the window.

"He's as fascinated with magic as Harry," said Ron.

"More like in awe," George added.

"We're almost there," Fred announced. Rin looked down and saw the many houses and streets of Surrey. It was hard to tell what was what in the darkness. The streetlights and lights coming from some of the buildings could only show him so much. He saw a handful of cars driving through the streets at such a late hour. He then retreated back into the flying car.

"So, how do we know which house is Harry's?" asked Rin.

"Harry told me that his house is on a street called Privet Drive," Ron recalled.

Fred chuckled. "Well, that narrows it down," he said sarcastically.

"We can't fly around looking for it!" exclaimed Rin. "We'll be here all night."

The Weasley twins looked at a number of houses and noticed something about them.

"Noticed something, Fred?" asked George.

"A lot of these houses look alike!" Fred realized.

Ron and Rin looked at the twins. "So?" they asked at the same time.

"How many wizards do you two know live in a Muggle house in Surrey?" asked Fred.

"I don't know! I don't even live in this country!" Rin exclaimed.

"Only one," George answered. "And he lives with Muggles who probably don't want him to go back to Hogwarts."

"So what's the Muggle way to keep someone from leaving a house?" Fred asked the twelve-year-olds.

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. Lock them up?" he guessed.

"Excellent answer, Rin!" George exclaimed.

"So how are going to find Harry's house?" asked Ron.

"Rin said that the only way to keep someone from leaving a house is to lock them inside," Fred explained.

"So, Harry's house is essentially a prison since he can't stand living there," George added.

Ron was beginning to lose his patience. "Will you just get to the point?"

"Harry's Muggle relatives will probably have bars on his windows or a high fence or something like that," said Fred.

"So in a town where the houses practically all look alike…" added George.

"One of those houses will stand out," they finished together.

Rin was starting to catch on. "So, all we have to do is look for a house that has heavy duty security or something like that…"

"Then we'll find Harry," the twins finished simultaneously.

Ron looked at his friend and his brothers in horror. Maybe his mother was on to something when she told the twins to keep Rin out of their shenanigans.

~0~0~0~

It took about an hour or so before they finally found Privet Drive. Aside from different flowers in the flower beds of the front yards and cars sitting in some driveways, almost every house looked exactly alike in the dark.

The quartet noticed that one house stood out from the others. While it looked like all the other houses, one of the windows had bars over it. If Rin's hunch was right, this had to be where Harry lived.

"Good call on the bars on the windows, Fred," said Ron.

The twins looked at the bars in shock.

"I didn't think they'd actually do it," Fred muttered.

They flew closer to the barred window. Rin looked in and saw a box room full of broken toys and useless junk. A small bed was in the corner of the room. And on that bed was a boy Ron and Rin's age. He was small and skinny for his age and wore hand-me-down clothes that were a few sizes too big for him. The lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead was a dead giveaway to who this boy was. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

Rin brought his head back into the car. "This is the place, guys. Harry's asleep in there. Can you bring us closer, Fred?"

"No problem."

Fred managed to move the car closer to the window until it was practically parallel parked next to it.

Rin leaned out of the car's window and started tapping on Harry's bedroom window.

_TAP TAP TAP_

Harry shifted in his bed a little but didn't wake. Rin frowned and tried again.

_TAP TAP TAP_

Harry shifted in his bed again and even waved his hand around as if he were shooing someone away.

Rin frowned and tried again but did it in his own… annoying way.

~0~0~0~

_TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP_

Harry cringed and rolled over to see what was causing that incessant tapping. He put his glasses on and came face-to-face with a pair of blue eyes staring back at him.

Harry blinked several times before realizing at his school friend, Rin Okumura, was looking into his window. Not to mention, his other friend, Ron Weasley and his brothers, were also somehow outside his second story window, sitting in a _floating car_! The young wizard got out of bed and opened his window.

"Rin? Ron? Fred, George? What are you guys doing here?" asked Harry.

"All right, Harry?" George called out.

"What's been going on?" asked Ron.

"Everyone's been trying to reach you all summer. Why haven't you been answering their letters?" asked Rin.

"I've asked you to stay at our place about twelve times, and then Dad came home saying you used magic in front of a bunch of Muggles -"

"It wasn't me - and how did he know?" asked Harry.

"Dad works at the Ministry, remember?" asked Ron. "You do know that we're not allowed to do magic outside of school, right?"

"You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.

"This is Dad's, _we_ didn't enchant it, so it doesn't count. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with -"

"I told you, I didn't - but it'll take too long to explain now - look, can you tell everyone at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so -"

"Stop gibbering," said Ron.

"We're here to break you out," Rin said with determination.

"But you can't magic me out either -"

Rin gave Harry a sneaky smirk. "We never said we were going to use magic," he said slyly.

Ron also gave Harry a smirk. "You forget who we brought with us," he said.

Fred tossed Harry the end of a long rope. "Tie that around the bars," he told him.

"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," Harry said as he tied the rope around the bars and Fred revved up the car.

"Don't worry," he assured, "and stand back."

Harry moved into the back of the room towards his owl, Hedwig, that was locked up in a bird cage. The car kept revving until the bars were pulled clean off the window. Harry ran back to the window and saw the bars dangling a few feet from the ground. Rin and Ron quickly pulled the rope and the bars into the backseat of the car. Fred backed the car as close to the window as possible.

"Get in," said Ron.

"But my Hogwarts stuff - my wand - my broomstick -"

"Where is it?" asked Rin.

"In the cupboard under the stairs, but it's locked up," answered Harry. "And I can't get out of this room."

"Leave it to us," said George. He and Fred climbed through the window (Ron took control of the wheel) and made their way to the bedroom door.

"Can you help us, Rin? You're strong, you can carry his trunk," said Fred. Rin climbed in as well and followed the twins into the house (after they picked the door lock). Through the minimal amount of light in the house, Rin could tell it was rather bland. Several pictures of a really fat boy hung from the walls.

The three sped down the stairs, picked the lock on the cupboard, and retrieved Harry's belongings. Thanks to Rin's abnormal strength, they managed to get it all in one trip. Meanwhile, Ron maneuvered the car so that the trunk was facing the window. As soon and Rin and the twins returned to the bedroom, they loaded Harry's belongings into the car. Harry and Rin were about to climb into the car when a screech was heard followed by someone yelling, "THAT RUDDY OWL!"

Harry's eyes widened. "I've forgotten Hedwig!" he exclaimed.

"You forgot your owl?!" Rin exclaimed. Harry dashed across the room, grabbed Hedwig's cage, and ran back to the window. He gave Rin the irritated owl when the door was busted open and Harry's uncle stood in the doorway.

Rin's eyes widened when he recognized the man. This was the same man he, Yukio, and Shiro encountered last summer when they were exploring London. Yukio accidentally bumped into the man who did not take kindly to the incident even though Yukio apologized. Angry that the man treated his brother so poorly, Rin retaliated by kicking the man in the shins.

"_You_!" Rin growled.

Vernon Dursley's eyes widened when he recognized the boy standing in his nephew's bedroom. "You!"

"Rin! Harry! Come on!" Ron called out (Fred took the wheel). As much as Rin wanted to give Vernon another kick in the shins, he complied and started climbing out the window. Harry quickly scrambled out as well.

Vernon let out a bellow like an angry bull and barreled towards the boys. He dove towards them and grabbed Harry's ankle. Rin, George, and Ron grabbed Harry's arms and started tugging him away from his angry uncle.

"Let go!" Harry yelled at Vernon.

"Petunia!" Vernon roared. "Petunia! He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

Rin pulled his foot back, took aim, and slammed it into Vernon's purple face. The impact was enough for Vernon to let go of Harry's ankle, lose balance, fall out the window, and into the rose bushes below, just as a long-faced woman and the fattest boy Rin had ever seen stumble into the room. They cried out and ran to the window. Vernon stood up, covered in scratches and thorns, and started yelling out at the young wizards while trying to stem his now bloody nose.

"Put your foot on it, Fred!" Ron yelled. Fred stomped on the gas pedal and the flying car took off into the night.

Harry rolled down the window and called out, "See you next summer!" The Weasleys and Rin roared with laughter. Harry was smiling as if Christmas came early. He was finally free.

"Let Hedwig out," Harry told Ron. "She hasn't been out for ages - she can fly behind us."

George managed to pick the lock on Hedwig's cage and the owl burst out the cage and flew out the window. She gracefully flew behind the flying car as the group got caught up with each other.

"So," Rin said after the laughter died down, "what's going on, Harry? Why did your aunt and uncle lock you up in your room?"

Harry then told them what had been happening since the summer started. Things seemed fine at first (as fine as living with the Dursleys could be), but for some reason Harry hadn't been receiving any mail from any of his friends. This was due to a house elf named Dobby intercepting his mail. Dobby appeared to Harry, warning him that he shouldn't return to Hogwarts. When Harry refused to heed Dobby's warning, the house elf took matters into his own hands and levitated a velvet pudding onto a houseguest's head. That was how Harry received a warning from the Ministry of Magic.

When he finished, Fred and George looked at each other with dark expressions. Rin looked just as troubled. He had met several house elves at Hogwarts in the kitchens last year and none of them acted like that. In fact, they were all about maintaining order throughout the school. The last thing they wanted was to cause trouble (that was courtesy of Peeves the poltergeist).

"That doesn't make sense," Rin said as soon as Harry was finished. "I've met the house elves at school and they never act like that. In fact, they only talk to you if you enter the kitchens."

"Did Dobby tell you who was even plotting all this stuff?" asked George.

Harry shook his head no. "I don't think he could. Every time he was close to letting something slip, he'd start banging his head against the wall," he explained. Rin looked at the twins who were looking at each other. Harry hesitated. "What, did you think he was lying to me?"

"Well, put it this way," said Fred. "House elves have got their own powerful magic, but they can't use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you from coming back to Hogwarts. You know - someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school who has a grudge against you?"

"Draco Malfoy," the three twelve-year-olds answered.

"He hates me," said Harry.

"The feeling's mutual," Rin added. He chuckled to himself at the memories of the two times he broke Malfoy's nose last year.

"Draco Malfoy?" George repeated. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry. "Why?"

Rin snickered. "His name is just as funny as his son's!"

"I've heard Dad talk about him," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

Rin rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why the entire wizarding community was so scared to say Voldemort's name (no matter how stupid it was).

"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," Fred added, turning his head to face Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying that he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was in You-Know-Who's inner circle."

"And the Ministry of Magic just took him at his word?" asked Rin.

"That's right," said George. "Said he was being controlled by You-Know-Who and that his actions were not his own."

Rin grimaced. "You're right, that is a load of bullshit. I wouldn't buy that excuse for a single yen."

"Yen?"

"Japanese Muggle money."

~0~0~0~

"Touchdown!" Fred cried as the car landed with a bump in front of the Burrow. The sun had already risen at this point but it was still pretty early. Harry got out of the car and stared in awe at the house.

"It's not much," Ron said, looking a little embarrassed.

"I think it's brilliant," said Harry who was still staring at the house with sparkles in his green eyes.

Rin helped Fred and George unload Harry's things from the car. They were just discussing how they were going to explain Harry's unexpected arrival when two angry adults came out of the house. One was a very angry looking Mrs. Weasley while the other was a livid Shiro Fujimoto.

* * *

**For years I always wondered how the Weasleys found Harry when they were breaking him out of his relatives' house. The only explanation I could come up with was that Harry told them in-between chapters in the first book (or off-screen in the movies). So, I had to get creative as to how they found him.**

**I'm surprised that no one realized that the man Rin, Yukio, and Shiro met in London in the first story was Vernon Dursley. I kind of want Rin and Vernon's meetings to become a running gag throughout the stories. What do you think?**

**As a Christmas present, please leave a review (or whatever winter holiday you celebrate)!**


	4. Connecting

**I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I certainly had fun! **

**This chapter was certainly hard to write. Sorry if it came up short. I'm looking forward to writing the next one!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Connecting**

"_WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN?_" Molly screeched. She had never felt so angry in her life. Three of her sons and one of their guests stood there like a deer in headlights. Her eyes then landed on an additional guest. "Harry dear! How lovely to see you!" she said sweetly before returning her attention to her sons. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"But… but…" Ron tried before being silenced by his mother.

"_Beds empty! No note! Car gone - could have crashed - out of my mind with worry! Did you care? You could have _died_! You could have been _seen_!_" she continued. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Harry. "Of course, I don't blame you, Harry dear."

While Molly was switching between scolding her sons and welcoming Harry, Shiro was scolding Rin.

"You better have a good explanation for why you went along with this stunt," Shiro sternly said.

"We wanted to rescue Harry from his relatives," Rin tried explaining.

"Did you have to sneak to Surrey and back to do it?"

Rin shrunk at Shiro's tone. "We knew you'd say no…"

"With good reason!" Shiro snapped, causing Rin to flinch. "You guys could have gotten into serious trouble if you were caught! What if you crashed? What then? You guys had no means of contacting us if something went wrong!"

"We had Harry's owl -"

"Not on your way to Surrey, you didn't! Did you even think about what could have happened if things went wrong?" Shiro angrily asked.

Rin lowered his head. "Sorry…"

Shiro folded his arms. "Don't just apologize to me. You owe Mrs. Weasley an apology too. She was worried sick about all of you," he said. "After breakfast, we're going to discuss your punishments."

"Punishments? As in more than one?" Rin asked, surprised.

"You're not the only one who is being punished," Shiro replied as he walked back to the house.

Rin looked at the Weasleys. Molly had just finished scolding her sons and told them to get into the house. Rin ran up to Molly and bowed to her.

"I'm really sorry for worrying you, Mrs. Weasley," he apologized.

Molly faced the blue-haired boy and smiled. "That's quite alright, dear. I know you all meant well, but I hope you've learned not to scare us like that again. It would break our hearts if something happened to any of you."

Rin stood up and gave her a smile of his own. "I'll keep that in mind. Sorry again. I'll make it up to you somehow," he offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Rin dear…"

"But I feel really bad about what I did!" he insisted.

Molly put her hand on Rin's shoulder. "If you insist, then we'll discuss it later. Now, let's go have some breakfast."

Rin felt a strange warmth he'd never felt before in his chest. For some reason, this feeling made him feel happy and decided he liked it.

~0~0~0~

Yukio entered the kitchen and saw his brother, Ron, and the Weasley twins sitting at the table. Judging from their miserable looks, it seemed that they were caught and got the scoldings of their lives. Their plan was successful, however, since Harry was also present.

"Good morning," he greeted.

Everyone turned and greeted him as well, although Rin and the Weasley brothers were not as enthusiastic.

Molly looked up from cooking sausages on the stove and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Yukio sweetie! How did you sleep?" she greeted.

"Very well, thanks," Yukio answered as he sat down and helped himself to some scrambled eggs. "Welcome, Harry. Glad you came."

Harry smiled. "Good to see you too, Yukio."

Ginny Weasley suddenly came into the kitchen. She saw Harry, gave a small squeal, and ran away.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "...What did I do?" he asked.

"What's with Ginny?" asked Rin. This was the first time he'd spoken since he entered the kitchen.

"She was pretty worried about you," Yukio told Harry. "She talked about you a lot last night when these idiots went to get you." Rin scowled at his brother at the last part of that remark.

"Try all summer," said Ron.

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said teasingly. Molly gave him a withering look and he silently went back to his breakfast.

The back door opened.

"'Morning, Weasleys, Okumuras, and Fujimoto!" Arthur Weasley greeted as he entered the kitchen.

"'Morning, Dad," the Weasley brothers greeted.

"'Morning, Arthur," Shiro greeted from behind the newspaper.

The Weasley patriarch sat down with a huff at the head of the table, next to Harry. "Nine raids - nine!"

"Raids?" Harry asked Ron in a whisper.

"Yeah," Ron answered with a mouth full of scrambled eggs. He swallowed before continuing. "Dad works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry. He loves Muggles, thinks they're fascinating."

Rin nodded. "You have no idea how often I've seen Mr. Weasley ask my dad questions about Muggles," he said to Harry. "Last week, he asked my dad how a lightbulb worked."

Arthur then noticed there was an extra guest at the table. "Hello! Who are you?"

Harry straightened up. "Oh, sorry, sir. My name's Harry, sir, Harry Potter."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Good Lord; are you really?"

Harry nodded and offered the man a friendly smile.

Shiro lowered the newspaper he was reading and smiled at the scarred boy. "Oh, Harry! How rude of me not to greet you sooner!"

Harry smiled at the Japanese priest. "Nice to see you again, Father Fujimoto," he greeted.

"When did he get here?" Arthur asked his wife.

"This morning," Molly said irritably. "Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Did you really?" Arthur asked his sons eagerly. "How did it go? I - I mean," he faltered at the sight of his wife's scorching look in her eyes, "that was very wrong, boys - very wrong, indeed!"

Shiro couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange.

_CRASH!_

Everyone, save the Weasleys, looked up startled and saw Errol the owl sliding down the kitchen window. Mrs. Weasley retrieved the comatose owl and the mail he was carrying. "Here, Harry, dear, Dumbledore's sent us your Hogwarts letter," she said.

"We got ours weeks ago," said Ron.

"Us too," said Yukio.

"I don't understand how he knows where you are, Harry," said Shiro. "I've known him for several years and I still don't understand how he ticks."

"You and the rest of us," Arthur agreed.

"There wasn't exactly any way for me to get ahold of any letters from the Dursleys," Harry said, frowning at the thought of Dobby stealing all of his letters.

"What do you mean?" asked Shiro.

"Someone was stealing Harry's mail over the summer," Rin explained.

"Pretty sure it's illegal in the wizarding world as it is in the Muggle world," Shiro muttered.

Yukio looked at Harry's school supplies list. "I guess the list is real if you're getting the same things," he noted.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Look at every school book on your list. Every book, except Miranda Goshawk's, is written by someone named Gilderoy Lockhart," Yukio pointed out.

"Isn't he the guy you have a crush on, Molly?" asked Shiro. Molly walked by to gather the empty plates and smacked Shiro on the head with a wooden spoon. He snickered. "What? I'm just kidding!"

"It's true," said Fred.

"Mum fancies him, Lockhart," added George. Molly responded by smacking both twins upside their heads.

Shiro chuckled. "Arthur, you didn't tell me that Molly occasionally meets with this Lockhart guy to sit in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

All of the boys and Arthur howled with laughter at Shiro's joke as Molly threw her wooden spoon at Shiro's head (which bounced off his forehead).

"Worth it!" he laughed.

~0~0~0~

Harry was getting ready to head upstairs the following evening. He noticed Father Fujimoto sitting by himself in the living room.

"Father Fujimoto?" Harry called out.

Shiro turned his head in Harry's direction and gave him a half-smile.

"Harry," he said, "Heading to bed?"

Harry nodded. Shiro nodded back. "Good to know," he said.

The scarred boy noticed something was off about the priest. "Is everything alright?" he asked as he approached Shiro.

Shiro stared directly at Harry from head to toe. "A perfect combination of your folks," he noted.

Harry blinked. "You knew my parents?!" he asked in shock.

Shiro nodded. "The spitting image of your old man, minus the eyes. Those are your mom's eyes," he observed.

"How did you know my parents?" asked Harry. "You're from Japan. My parents have never been there… have they?"

"Your mom came to the monastery once," Shiro recalled. "She was pregnant with you. The boys were only a few months old. She saw them, gushing over how cute they were, and how she wanted to arrange play-dates with them and you."

Harry sank down into an easy chair. "She met Rin and Yukio?" he asked.

Shiro waved his hand dismissively. "Like I said, they were a few months old. They have no recollection of that visit."

"How did she meet you? How did she _know_ you?"

"I saved her butt from some demons in Wales. That's how I met her," Shiro explained. "She and I got really close. James and I became drinking buddies. In fact, I took him out for drinks when he announced that he was going to be a father."

"Did you teach them how to fight demons?" asked Harry.

"I taught them a few tricks to get by. The Magic Branch of the True Cross hadn't reopened yet, so they couldn't get the proper training to become exorcists," Shiro explained.

"When did the Magic Branch of the True Cross reopen?" Harry asked curiously.

Shiro looked up, deep in thought. "Let's see… Your parents died almost eleven years ago, Demonology was added to the Hogwarts curriculum the following year… I'm going to say about thirteen years ago… Yeah, it took both the Ministry and the Vatican a whole year to form a truce. I knew your parents for about three years before they died," he thought out loud. "One year of meeting and getting to know them, one year of helping them prepare for parenthood, and one year of occasional visits."

Harry looked down in his lap before asking another question. "Did my mum ever bring me to meet Rin and Yukio when we were little?"

Shiro chuckled. "If only," he said. "Lily desperately wanted to bring you over for play-dates. Riding a broomstick was too dangerous for a baby, she didn't want to risk Apparating with you in her arms, and Floo Powder is not exactly baby-friendly."

"Couldn't you bring Rin and Yukio to the UK?" Harry asked.

Shiro's face suddenly became serious. "That… was out of the question," he said grimly.

"What do you mean?"

Shiro stood up. "It's getting late. I think it's time we both went to bed," he announced.

Harry stood up and was herded upstairs before he could ask any more questions. As soon as Harry entered Ron's room, Shiro made his way to Charlie's room. He sat down on the bed and took out an old Muggle photo from his wallet. It showed Lily and James holding baby Harry inside a church with James's friend, Sirius, standing next to them. Shiro was standing on one end of the group while his friend, Stephen Swain, was standing on the other end.

Shiro smiled at the photo in his hand. "Well, Lily, it looks like you got your wish in the end," he said.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this last bit with Harry and Shiro. I wanted them to get to know each other throughout the series. **

**Keep those reviews coming, folks!**


	5. Rendevous

**This chapter was a lot of fun to write! I have some plans for Lockhart in this story, plans that will hopefully make you laugh until your sides hurt.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Rendezvous **

"Harry? Harry!" Rin called out as he, Yukio, and Shiro walked around Diagon Alley searching for Harry. They and the Weasley family used Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley for school shopping but Harry had not shown up at the same fireplace as everyone else. Both families then split up to find the boy.

"Are we sure he'll be in Diagon Alley?" asked Yukio. "For all we know, he could be at the monastery."

"Southern Cross Boys' Monastery does not sound like Diagon Alley," Shiro assured the boys. "Let's try down here."

The three of them walked past a sign that read "Knockturn Alley". Immediately, they saw that this alley was the exact opposite of Diagon Alley. It was dark and murky even though it was sunny. Several coal tars were fluttering around.

"Make sure none of those demons get into your nose or mouth," Shiro warned the twins. They continued walking for several minutes. Many of the people they walked past gave them dirty looks. "Promise me you two will _never_ come here again."

"We promise," Rin and Yukio said at the same time. They didn't need to be told twice. This place was giving them the creeps.

Shiro then noticed an old woman trying to talk to a boy the twins' age. He instantly recognized the messy black hair.

"Harry!" Shiro called out.

Harry's soot-covered face turned and saw Shiro, Rin, and Yukio. It was clear that Harry was very afraid of being here. "F-F-Father Fujimoto!" he exclaimed in relief. "R-Rin! Yukio! I got lost… Floo Powder…"

Shiro scowled at the hag. "Beat it, granny! Leave the kid alone!" he barked. She shuffled off and Harry scampered towards the priest. "Let's get you out of here, Harry."

The group started walking back to Diagon Alley.

"I can understand if you don't want to travel by Floo Powder anymore," Shiro started, trying to break the ice. "Hated it then, still hate it now."

"I never thought it would take me to a place like that," said Harry. "What was that place?"

The four of them walked up to the sign that read "Knockturn Alley".

"Judging by the atmosphere and the people there, I'd say that it's for Dark wizards," said Shiro. "Not exactly kid-friendly."

"I told you I got lost!" Harry insisted. "What were you lot doing there anyway?"

"Looking for you," answered Rin. "Mrs. Weasley was freaking out when you didn't come out of the fireplace."

"She'll be relieved once she sees that we've found you," Shiro added.

"Harry! Rin, Yukio! Father Fujimoto!" a familiar voice called out.

The four males turned and saw a girl with bushy brown hair running up to them. Rin, Yukio, and Harry smiled, recognizing the girl. This was Hermione Granger, the smartest witch the boys knew.

"Hey, Hermione!" Rin greeted.

Shiro smiled as he recognized the girl. "Long time, no see, Hermione! How's your summer going?"

Hermione smiled at the Japanese priest. "It's been fine, thanks. How about you? How are things in Japan?" she inquired.

"Not bad, thanks."

A yell got everyone's attention. Arthur Weasley ran up to them, out of breath. Fred, George, Ron, and Percy were trailing behind him.

"Harry," Arthur panted, "we hoped you had only gone one grate too far… Molly's worried sick - she's coming now."

"Where did you end up?" Ron asked Harry.

"A creepy place called Knockturn Alley," Rin answered for his friend.

"Brilliant!" Fred and George said, impressed. With a smug grin, George held out his palm out towards Fred, who gave his twin a Galleon.

"Were you two gambling over where Harry would end up?!" Yukio asked exasperatedly. The twins simply replied by whistling as innocently as they could while Arthur gave them a withering look.

"We've never been allowed in," Ron added enviously.

"You don't want to go there, trust me," Shiro assured.

Molly suddenly appeared through the crowd, dragging Ginny behind her. The moment the Weasley matriarch laid eyes on Harry, she barrelled through, looking like she was going to throw her arms around him. Harry looked like he wanted to run away.

"Oh, Harry - oh, my poor dear - you could have been anywhere -"

She took out a brush from her bag and started brushing off the soot from Harry's clothes, causing him to blush. "Where on Earth did you find him, Shiro?" she inquired.

"Knockturn Alley," Shiro answered.

Molly covered her mouth in horror at his reply. "Knockturn Alley?! Oh, Shiro, if you hadn't found him…"

Shiro smiled nervously. "Hey, relax, Molly. Harry's fine and in one piece, that's all that matters," he assured.

"Still, if anything happened to him…"

"Arthur, a little help and reassurance, please," Shiro pleaded. After Arthur managed to pry his wife from Harry and Shiro, the group then walked through the alley.

"You'll never guess who I saw at Borgin and Burke's," Harry told the group. Everyone looked in the boy's direction. "Malfoy and his father."

Rin immediately became agitated. "That idiot is here?!"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Malfoy? That arrogant kid that caused you a lot of trouble last year?"

Yukio nodded. "The same one," he confirmed. "He has a particular hatred towards Harry, Rin, and Ron."

Arthur immediately jumped into the conversation. "Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" he inquired.

Harry shook his head. "No, he was selling."

Arthur smiled. "So, he's worried," he said with a satisfied grin. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something."

Molly looked sharply at her husband. "You be careful, Arthur," she warned. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting more than you can chew."

Shiro nodded. "She's right, Arthur. There's a quote from the book of Proverbs: 'A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man holds it back.'"

"Is that a fatal verse?" Hermione inquired.

Shiro chuckled. "No, it's not. Just wise advice."

Yukio gave Rin a smug grin. "Words to live by, huh, Rin?"

Rin scowled at his twin brother. "Shut up."

Arthur frowned. "What does that quote mean, Shiro?"

"It means don't let your anger get the best of you," Shiro explained. "If Malfoy sees that his insults aren't bugging you, it'll bug him."

~0~0~0~

After making withdrawals at Gringotts (and meeting up with Hermione's parents), and splitting up to do their own shopping, everyone eventually regrouped at Flourish and Blotts. A huge crowd had gathered outside the bookshop.

"What's going on here?" Shiro asked out loud.

A banner hung above the door that read:

"GILDEROY LOCKHART

Will be signing copies of his autobiography

_Magical Me_

Today from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm"

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed excitedly. "I mean, he's written the whole booklist!"

"We know," her four friends grumbled.

"What's so great about Lockhart anyway?" asked Rin.

Hermione gasped. "Don't you read? Gilderoy Lockhart has done thousands of things for the wizarding world. Like in his book, _Break with a Banshee_, where he -"

"Hermione, besides Yukio, does it look like we read as much as you do?" Rin interrupted, rolling his eyes. Shiro could only chuckle.

"Let's just get inside, get the books, and leave," Ron grumbled as they squeezed into the crowd. "Whose idea was it to get all the books this guy ever wrote? I bet you that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's a witch."

"A die hard fan," Yukio grunted as he pushed his way past two witches. Luckily Shiro managed to steer the children towards a breathless Molly who, like the other witches in the shop, were eagerly awaiting Lockhart's arrival and trying to look presentable. Fred, George, Percy, Ginny, Arthur, and the Grangers were also there.

"Oh, there you are, good," Molly greeted when she saw Shiro and the children. "We'll be able to see him soon."

Right on cue, a rather handsome wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes entered the room, causing most of the women in the shop (including Molly and Hermione) to swoon. Gilderoy Lockhart sat down at the table in the front, which was surrounded by large pictures of himself that winked cheekily at them, complete with dazzling smiles.

Shiro knew he was well-known in the wizarding world, but he didn't know _how_ well-known. Nonetheless he lifted his collar as best he could to hide himself in case Lockhart recognized him. The last thing he wanted was attention.

Lockhart, who was posing for photos for a _Daily Prophet_ photographer, noticed not Shiro, but another celebrity in the crowd. He leapt to his feet and pointed at said celebrity.

"It can't be Harry Potter!" he yelled.

The entire bookshop fell silent. Everyone looked at where Lockhart was looking. Harry shrank back, not wanting to once again be the center of attention of total strangers. Soon, everyone started whispering as Lockhart walked over and pulled Harry out of the crowd. Harry was dragged to the front by a grinning Lockhart as the photographer started snapping photos of the two of them.

"Poor kid," Shiro sighed. Lockhart turned in Shiro's direction and immediately recognized him.

"Father Shiro Fujimoto?!" Lockhart cried.

"Shit!" Shiro squeaked.

The photographer grabbed Shiro by the sleeve and shoved him towards Lockhart, who maneuvered Harry and Shiro so they'd be on either side of the grinning wizard. The photographer soon started snapping photos again. Soon, everyone in the bookshop were murmuring about the three celebrities. Out of the corner of Harry's eye, he saw that Shiro had half a mind to knock some of Lockhart's teeth out. Rin and Yukio could only look on sympathetically at their father.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!" Lockhart addressed the audience.

"This can't be good," Yukio muttered to Ron.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present to him free of charge -"

Shiro coughed. "No, he didn't."

Lockhart either ignored Shiro or didn't hear him. "- he had no idea that he would be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his fellow students will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have the great pleasure and pride of announcing that this September, I will be taking up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" he announced.

Rin, Yukio, and Ron all dropped their jaws at the same time.

'_WHAAAAAAAT?!'_

Lockhart then shifted his attention to Shiro, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "I also humbly ask Father Shiro Fujimoto to aid me in writing my next book. Together, I'm sure the two of us can shed more light on demons and their behavior."

The Weasley brothers, Harry, and the Okumura twins looked in horror at the Muggle priest who was just as surprised as they were.

~0~0~0~

When Harry broke away from Lockhart (complete with a free set of books), the wizard dragged Shiro aside to talk to him.

"Let me just say that it is an honor to speak to one of the greatest heroes of the Wizarding War," said Lockhart, flashing him a dazzling smile.

Shiro rolled his eyes, unfazed by Lockhart's charms. "Quit kissing my ass. I stumbled into your war by accident. Your people and mine only teamed up because we had a common enemy. Had we known that one of our exorcists at the Knights of the True Cross was also a wizard who followed the magical equivalent to Hitler, things might have been handled differently."

Lockhart was taken aback at that statement.

"And, no, I will _not_ help you write your next book," Shiro finished with a growl. And with that, he left to regroup with his sons and their friends, who were facing off against a pale boy with blonde hair and had an arrogant smirk on his face. Behind the boy was a man who could only be described as the boy's father.

"Everything alright?" he asked the group.

The boy's father looked in Shiro's direction and looked at him from head to toe, as if he were assessing the priest. The children also looked in Shiro's direction.

"So," the man started, "this is the infamous Shiro Fujimoto."

Shiro lifted an eyebrow. "And you are…?"

The man held out a hand. "Lucius Malfoy." The two men shook hands. "Quite an honor to meet a legend, such as yourself."

"Malfoy… my boys have spoken a lot about your son," said Shiro.

"Draco has spoken quite a bit about one of yours," Lucius replied. He shifted his eyes towards the blue-haired boy. "Rin, I believe his name was."

Shiro moved in front of Rin, blocking Lucius's view. Before anything else could be said, Arthur Weasley appeared from the crowd with Fred and George.

"Ron! Shiro!" he said. "What are you lot doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."

Arthur slowly turned towards the Malfoy patriarch. "Lucius," he greeted coldly. Rin and Yukio blinked. They'd never seen the usually happy-go-lucky man act like that before.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Lucius. "All those raids… I do hope they're paying you overtime." He reached into Ginny's cauldron and picked up a secondhand copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfigurations_. "Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Arthur flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

Shiro then spoke up, "Your idea of disgracing the name wizard is quite different than his, Lucius."

The wizard and the Muggle locked eyes. "Associating with your kind," Lucius sneered. "I didn't think Arthur could sink any lower." Shiro narrowed his eyes. "Come, Draco."

Lucius walked out of the shop. Draco followed behind, but not before speaking to Harry and the others.

"See you at school," he said to them. The five twelve-year olds couldn't help but feel the hair on the back of their necks rise.

* * *

**A tiny bit of light has been shed on Shiro's past in the wizarding world. Were you paying attention?**

**Time's running out! Should the Exwires be included in this series or not? Let me know in your reviews.**

**NO REVIEWS EQUALS NO UPDATES! I cannot stress that enough!**


	6. Meet and Greet

**Not much happens in this chapter. It's just filler. The 'reintroducing-minor-characters' kind of filler. You also meet a fan favorite HP character in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Meet and Greet**

The Hogwarts Express whistled as several children were bidding their parents and guardians goodbye. Rin and Yukio were hugging Shiro as tightly as they could. While the pain of leaving him wasn't as great as last year, it still hurt that they wouldn't be seeing him until the holidays.

"You two have fun, okay?" said Shiro.

"We will," said Yukio.

"Rin, promise me you won't break anyone's noses this year," Shiro requested. Rin could only look away, his face turning bright red.

The twins boarded the train and began looking around for a compartment. Their luggage (plus cat carrier) was heavy and they wanted to find a compartment as quickly as possible.

"Man, this train is crowded," Rin grunted as he adjusted his grip on his luggage. The train started pulling out of the station.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" asked Yukio. "I thought they would have claimed a compartment for us by now."

"Yukio? Is that you?"

The twins turned and saw a dark haired boy sticking his head out a compartment.

Yukio smiled. "Hey Michael! How was your summer?"

"Pretty good," answered Michael Corner. "Want to sit with us? Terry and Anthony are here too."

Yukio and Rin looked at each other.

Rin shrugged. "I don't mind if you go, Yukio. I'm gonna find Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"You sure?" asked Yukio.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Yukio smiled. "Thanks, Rin. I'll see you later."

Rin smiled back and continued his quest to find his friends. Shifting his luggage in his arms again, he started trudging through the narrow corridor of the train car.

The sound of a compartment door opening behind him got his attention. "Rin! There you are!" Hermione exclaimed in relief. "Where's Yukio?"

Rin was also relieved. "Hey, Hermione! Thank God I found you. This stuff is getting heavy."

Hermione grabbed Kuro's carrier and Rin followed her into the compartment. Ginny and a boy named Neville Longbottom were sitting in there as well. As soon as Rin put his luggage above the seats, he sat down. Hermione then let Kuro out of his carrier.

"So, where's Yukio?" Hermione asked again.

"His Ravenclaw friends saw us and invited him to sit with them," Rin answered.

"Is everything alright, Neville?" Ginny asked the round-faced boy.

Hermione and Rin looked up and saw Neville trying to stay as far away from Kuro as possible. Kuro, who was stretching his legs next to Rin's seat, straightened up when he realized that someone was staring at him.

"What's the matter, Neville?" asked Hermione.

Neville looked at his friends and shakily pointed at the demonic cat. "D-D-Don't you s-s-see?" he asked incredulously.

The three of them stared at Kuro, who tilted his head innocently. "Mrow?"

"See what? What's wrong with Kuro?" asked Hermione as the cat started scratching his ears with his hind leg.

"H-He...He's a demon!" Neville exclaimed.

Both girls widened their eyes at this revelation. Rin just shrugged.

"Yeah, so?"

Hermione and Ginny looked at Rin in shock.

"You _know_?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"He looks like an ordinary cat to me," said Ginny. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised when I first saw what he really looked like, but he's still Kuro," said Rin.

Ginny was the first to recover from her shock. "What does he really look like?" she inquired.

Rin smiled at the fact that someone was willing to accept this turn of events so quickly. "He looks the same as you see him now, except he has little horns on his head and he has two tails," he explained.

"How long have you been able to see him like this?" asked Hermione.

Rin took a moment to recall when it started happening. "Remember when we were in the Forbidden Forest for detention? I think that's when it started," he said.

Hermione took a few minutes to think back at that moment in time. "Now I remember. You claimed you saw green monkeys in the trees," she recalled.

"It's true! I did see green monkeys!" Rin insisted.

Something then clicked in Hermione's mind. She looked at Neville. "That night. You fell into a chuchi nest, right?"

Neville shuddered at the memory. "Yeah. They bit me all over. That's how I got a temptaint. Professor Shura told me I would be able to see demons," he then looked at Kuro in fear, "but I didn't realize you kept one as a pet."

"You didn't notice that Rin's cat suddenly looked different after you got your temptaint?" Hermione asked skeptically. Kuro then hopped onto Hermione's lap and started nuzzling her, as if to tell her that he was harmless.

"I always told myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me," said Neville. "Guess I wasn't seeing things."

"Well, he seems pretty harmless to me," said Ginny. Kuro then jumped across the compartment into Ginny's lap and hopped up onto her shoulder and rubbed against the side of her head. She couldn't help but giggle at how affectionate the cat was acting. "He's so cute!" A lick on the cheek made Ginny laugh.

Rin and Hermione couldn't help but join in the laughter.

"I think he's showing Neville that he's harmless," said Rin.

"Or that Ginny has an admirer," Hermione added.

Rin then noticed that Neville was still staring apprehensively at Kuro. "You can pet him, Neville. He won't bite," he assured his friend. Neville looked at Rin for a split-second before looking at Kuro, who was staring at him from Ginny's shoulder. Neville hesitantly reached his hand out and started petting the demonic cat. He nuzzled into Neville's hand before jumping off of Ginny's shoulder and into his arms. Purring could be heard in the compartment.

Hermione giggled. "Looks like Neville's made a new friend."

~0~0~0~

Mephisto Pheles sipped on his tea as he listened to Shiro talk about his recent stay at the wizarding world. He didn't really care much for the first few weeks of Shiro's visit, the visit to Flourish and Blotts, however, piqued his interest.

"...and then the prick left the shop with his son trailing behind him," Shiro finished.

"Lucius Malfoy. That name does ring a bell," Mephisto recalled.

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "You know him?" he asked.

"I know _of_ him," the Demon King replied. "Apparently he was one of the more loyal members of Voldemort's followers. Don't ask me for any details, everything I heard about his activities were rumors. The moment the war ended, he was one of the first Dark wizards to rejoin the good guys, claiming to be under the influence of the Imperius Curse."

"Imperius Curse?"

"A curse that controls another person's actions," Mephisto explained. "Malfoy's the puppet, Voldemort's the puppeteer."

"Was he under the curse's influence?" Shiro inquired.

"Depends on who you ask. Personally, I wouldn't believe his story for all the Every Flavor Beans in the world. Speaking of which…"

Shiro rolled his eyes and tossed a small bag of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans (that he had purchased at Diagon Alley) to Mephisto, who happily caught it. He took out a bean and popped it into his mouth. He grimaced.

"Soap!" he gagged.

"They weren't kidding about 'every flavor,'" Shiro murmured.

Mephisto swallowed his candy followed by a big gulp of tea. "A surprise in every bean!" he laughed.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Shiro asked irritably.

Mephisto cleared his throat. "Yes. Regarding the Malfoys, you shouldn't worry about Lucius. He's a pureblood supremacist, but he doesn't know how to pick his battles."

Shiro quirked an eyebrow. "He's a what now?"

"A pureblood supremacist. Magic through and through. Muggleborns, like your late friend Lily Potter, are the scum of the earth," Mephisto explained. Shiro tightened his grip on his teacup at the mentioning of his late friend. "As for half-bloods - those who are born with one magical parent and one Muggle parent - it depends on if they support Voldemort's cause or not."

"What about the twins and their friends?" asked Shiro.

Mephisto took another sip of his tea before answering. "Rin and Yukio are half-bloods. While their father isn't particularly 'magical' so to speak, their mother was. Yuri was Muggleborn," he explained.

Shiro nodded. "That explains a bit about her before she passed away," he muttered. "She once told me she was ambushed by a wizard. She didn't give me any details because her father entered the room. Clammed right up."

"My, my, how troubling," said Mephisto.

"What about the boys' friends?"

"Hermione Granger is Muggleborn. No magic in the family, whatsoever. Ronald Weasley, if you are not already aware, is a pureblood. Both his parents come from pure-blooded families, if you're not already aware. Not sure what Molly, her brothers, or Arthur told you regarding their bloodlines. Harry Potter is a half-blood. His mother, as you know, was Muggleborn. His father was a pureblood," Mephisto continued.

"Wouldn't that make Harry quarter-Muggle, then?" Shiro inquired.

The Demon King shook his head no. "Doesn't work like that. You're either pureblood, half-blood, or Muggleborn. If you so much as have a hundredth of Muggle blood in you, you're a half-blood."

Shiro let out a huff. "Whatever happened to nationality? When people would just learn about what countries their ancestors came from?"

~0~0~0~

Yukio kept looking towards the Gryffindor table, as if to see Harry and Ron miraculously appear there. His Ravenclaw friends, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, and Anthony Goldstein didn't know how to help their foreign friend. They knew how close he was to his brother and his friends.

"Are you looking for Wrackspurts?" an airy voice next to Yukio asked.

Yukio turned and came face-to-face with a first year with dirty blonde hair and silvery eyes. Her presence alone gave Yukio the impression that she was an airhead.

The four Ravenclaw boys looked at the girl with wide eyes.

"I'm… looking for… what?" Yukio asked with uncertainty.

"Wrackspurts," the girl repeated. "They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."

"They're...invisible?" Terry repeated with an equal amount of uncertainty.

"That's right," the girl confirmed. "I'm Luna Lovegood. I hope we get along."

"Uh… sure," Anthony answered hesitantly. "I'm Anthony Goldstein and this is Michael Corner, Terry Boot, and Yukio Okumura."

Luna nodded to each of them then turned her attention back to Yukio. "You keep looking at the Gryffindor table. Are you looking for Wrackspurts or someone you know?" she asked.

"My friends. Two of them are missing," Yukio answered.

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," added Terry.

Luna's faint eyebrows rose a little. "You're friends with Harry Potter, Yukio?" she inquired.

Yukio nodded as he took a bite of his mashed potatoes. "Yeah. My brother is in Gryffindor with him. He's the one with the blue hair sitting next to the Weasley twins."

Luna looked in the Gryffindor table's direction. "Something is different about him. It could be the hair or it could be that he already has Wrackspurts inside his head," she said airily.

A half-smile appeared on Yukio's face. "If that's the case, then his head is full of them," he replied. His friends snorted at that.

Luna frowned. "Why do you say such a thing?"

"Rin didn't get the highest grades last year," Yukio explained. "He barely passed his finals, although he did get the second highest marks in Potions. It's to be expected though, since he has a natural talent for cooking."

The groundskeeper, Argus Filch, entered the Great Hall and walked up to one of the teachers. He whispered something into his ear. He stood up from his chair and stormed out of the Great Hall. Yukio didn't have to look at his hooked nose and greasy black hair to know that this teacher was the Potions teacher, Professor Severus Snape.

"And that's your new Potions teacher," said Anthony. "Mean to the bone, hates anyone who isn't in Slytherin House."

"I don't think he'll be much of a problem," Luna said airily. "He looks more like he's angry about something all the time."

"Well he's certainly angry about something," said Michael.

"He's _always_ angry about something," said Terry.

~0~0~0~

Demonology Professor Shura Kirigakure stormed through the hallways of Hogwarts, trying to go to her office for the night… and shake off the pest that wouldn't leave her alone.

"Gilderoy, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not interested in going to Hogsmeade with you!" she exclaimed to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Lockhart flashed a sparkling grin to her. "Come now, Shura! I don't know anything about demons. Perhaps you could tell me more about that," he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

A tick mark appeared on Shura's flaming red hair. "Rrrrgggghhh! Just go away already!" she growled.

"Just give me a chance," Lockhart insisted. "We can go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer."

Shura readily frowned. "One, I have already have a drinking buddy. I don't need another. And two, I prefer the Hog's Head, thank you very much," she flatly told him. She then turned to him, dug a Galleon out of her pocket and put it into Lockhart's hand. "Here. Take this. Go buy yourself a date and leave me alone." She continued walking towards her office, never looking back.

She made it to her office and slammed the door behind her. She summoned a Naga (a snake demon) and ordered it to guard the door.

"No wonder the other teachers can't stand him," Shura said to Naga. "He's only interested in me because of my body." The snake demon let out a hiss in agreement.

* * *

**Told you not much happens in this chapter.**

**Kuro will play a somewhat minor role in this story, but I won't say what. Same goes with Luna. She's now part of Yukio's circle of Ravenclaw friends (for now).**

**Last chance, folks! Should the Exwires be part of the story or not?**

**Please review! The more reviews I get, more sooner I'll review.**


	7. Back to School

**I'm on a roll! It's been so long since I've uploaded this many chapters in one month! **

**After looking at the reviews, I've decided that the Exwires will be included in this story as well as the series (if this becomes a series). They won't be _that_ involved in this story. They'll interact with our heroes from time to time. Think of it as a way of introducing them to the HP universe.**

**Make sure you read the notes at the bottom of the page. Important!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Back to School**

The school was still buzzing over Harry and Ron's… late arrival to school the following morning. Rin was both thrilled and a little jealous that they used the flying car to get to Hogwarts. That thrill and jealousy died when they were having breakfast and the morning post arrived. Errol the owl crash landed into the hashbrowns. A red letter was tied to his leg.

Ron immediately paled at the sight of it. "_Oh no_!" he gasped.

Rin poked the unconscious owl with his finger. "Don't worry, he's not dead," he assured the redhead.

"Not that! It's that!" Ron whimpered, pointing to the red envelope. To Harry, Rin, and Hermione, it was just an ordinary bit of mail. To Ron and Neville, however, it looked like a bomb.

"Hey look, everyone!" fellow Gryffindor second-year Seamus Finnigan suddenly yelled from across the table (and trying not to laugh). "Weasley's got a Howler!"

"What's a Howler?" Rin and Harry asked at the same time.

Neville looked like he was about to answer until the envelope started smoking.

Rin immediately panicked. "What the hell?! It's on fire!" he exclaimed.

Neville shook his head. "That's what it does when you don't open it," he said. "You better open it now, Ron."

Ron and Neville's three friends looked from their petrified faces to the red letter. Ron took the envelope from Errol and shakily started to open it. Neville stuffed his fingers into his ears, preparing for the inevitable to happen.

A split second later, a roar of sound exploded from the letter. It was so loud, the goblets on the tables shook.

"_RONALD WEASLEY!_" Molly's amplified voice rang out from the envelope, which took the shape of a person's mouth and was now screaming at Ron:

"_HOW __DARE_ _YOU STEAL THAT CAR - I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY EXPELLED YOU! YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU! I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE -_"

Harry and Rin never felt so sorry for one person in their lives as everyone around the Great Hall turned to see who was the unfortunate soul that received the screaming letter, making Ron sink so low in his chair, his red hair was the only thing visible.

" - _LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE __DIED_ _-_"

Harry was wondering when his name would pop up. He tried his best to ignore the shrieking that was making his eardrums throb. Poor Rin was trying - and failing - at blocking his ears with everything that would fit in them, from his fingers to napkins.

" - _I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER IS FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY __YOUR FAULT__! YOU PUT ANOTHER __TOE_ _OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!_"

A ringing silence fell throughout the hall. The red envelope then burst into flames and burned and curled into ashes. Harry and Ron sat stunned at what just happened. Ron's eyes shifted and saw Yukio from Ravenclaw table shaking his head in pity. A few people laughed and eventually the typical babble of talk started again.

Hermione shut her copy of _Voyages with Vampires_ and looked down upon the top of Ron's head.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you -"

"Don't tell me I deserved it!" Ron snapped.

"Fine," Hermione complied, turning her nose up and taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. Rin's head then fell face first onto the table.

"Rin! Are you okay?!" she exclaimed in alarm.

"Is he alright?" asked Seamus.

"My ears…are…ringing…" he whimpered. Hermione turned his head towards her and saw his blue eyes were swirly. "My head hurts…"

Ron's head popped up a little to see what was wrong. "Sorry you had to hear that, Rin," he whimpered.

Yukio walked over to check on his brother. "You okay, Rin?" he asked.

"Why haven't my ears stopped ringing?" Rin asked miserably.

"Should we take him to the Hospital Wing?" asked Harry.

"Nah, he'll live," Yukio dismissed.

"Yukio, you're so cruel," Rin whimpered.

~0~0~0~

As soon as Rin's hearing recovered, he and his fellow Gryffindors left the Great Hall to attend their first Herbology lesson of the year with the Hufflepuffs. They saw their teacher, Professor Sprout, striding into view with Gilderoy Lockhart trailing behind her. The boys all glared at him, while the girls (mainly Hermione) turned pink and started straightening themselves up as the two teachers approached them.

"Hermione, you're going against every girl in school to get Lockhart's attention. What makes you think he'll notice _you_?" Rin asked her.

"You never know, Rin," she answered irritably. Her three friends rolled their eyes.

"Girls," Ron grumbled irritably.

"Oh, hello there!" Lockhart called, beaming at the assembled students. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants in my travels…"

"Greenhouse Three today, chaps!" Sprout interrupted. It was quite clear that she was very annoyed with Lockhart.

Everyone started whispering amongst themselves. They had only been in Greenhouse One. Greenhouse Three was supposed to be more dangerous. Some said that there were plant-like demons living there.

"What happened to Greenhouse Two?" asked Rin.

Ron shrugged. "Search me."

They were about to head in when Lockhart stopped Harry. "Harry, I've been wanting a word - you don't mind if he's a couple minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?" he asked the head of Hufflepuff House.

Sprout let out an irritated huff and a scowl. Lockhart smiled. "That's the ticket!" he cheered. He then slammed the greenhouse door in her face.

"That was rude," Ron muttered. Rin, Neville, Seamus, and Dean Thomas could only nod in agreement. Luckily Harry wasn't gone long, as he soon joined the others before the lecture started.

"Now, gather 'round everyone," said Professor Sprout. "Today, we are going to repot Mandrakes. Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?"

Hermione and another girl from Hufflepuff raised their hands.

"Yes, Miss Moriyama?"

Rin turned his attention to the girl Sprout called on. She had short blonde hair that framed her round face with big green eyes.

"Um… Man-Mandrake roots are known to restore people who have been Petrified back to normal," the girl said nervously. "They're… also known for their shrieks which can be fatal."

Sprout gave the girl a warm smile. "Very good, Miss Moriyama. Ten points to Hufflepuff." The girl looked down in her lap, giving herself a tiny smile.

Rin's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. '_She's pretty __**and**_ _smart!'_

"Now, these Mandrakes are only seedlings. While their cries are not fatal, they will knock you out for several hours," Sprout explained. "I've given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. Hurry now, put them on!"

Everyone did as they were told. Rin made sure his earmuffs were covered. He didn't think his ears could handle any more abuse.

~0~0~0~

The Gryffindors soon left the greenhouses to go to their second closs, Demonology. Their professor, Shura Kirigakure, was what older students described as hardcore. She had zero tolerance for tardiness and those who complained about her class. Anyone who was tardy to her class was locked out of the classroom and she wouldn't let them in unless they slipped a tardy slip under the door. Those who complained within earshot of her would have their desk stabbed with her purple sword that was decorated with green gemstones that looked like snake eyes on the blade. Several desks in her classroom had stab marks on them.

"Think Professor Shura's gonna mess with Malfoy again this year?" asked Rin as he and his friends took their seats.

"I hope so," said Ron. "It's one of the reasons why I liked her class last year."

"I still don't understand why she calls him a ferret," Harry muttered.

Hermione got her notes and textbooks out of her bag before joining the conversation. "It was very inappropriate for what she did to Malfoy last year," she said.

Her three friends stared at her incredulously.

"Are you defending him?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Of course not," said Hermione. "I just don't think stabbing his desk with her sword was the right way of putting him in his place."

"Fred and George thinks she's brilliant," said Ron. "They love it when she summons her snake demons."

Harry frowned. "Snake demons?"

"They're called nagas," Hermione explained.

"Can't believe we have to take this class until our third year," a very familiar voice complained. The four turned and saw Draco Malfoy along with his friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, trailed behind him. "Father's furious when he found out what the teacher really is. He can't fathom why Dumbledore would hire someone…"

"Someone who has the most experience with fighting monsters you clearly cannot see yet!" Shura Kirigakure interrupted as she entered her classroom, slamming the door shut. "Seriously, Ferret, you need to learn to keep your complaints to yourself. I could hear you from the other end of the hall."

Several students giggled, leaving Malfoy bright pink.

Shura stopped in front of her desk. "Glad to see you guys again, hope you had a nice summer, blah, blah, blah… You guys are gonna be hearing those words all week. Might as well get that out of the way," she drawled. "This is Beginner's Demonology I. This year I'm gonna be teaching ya about Demon Kings and the demons they control. Who here can tell me the name of one of the Demon Kings?"

Hermione shot her hand up.

"Granger."

"Lucifer, the Demon King of Light."

Shura gave Hermione a half-smile. "Right as always, Granger. Who else?"

Harry raised his hand to Ron and Hermione's surprise. "Potter. Ya know one?" Shura asked.

"Amaimon," Harry answered, remembering his and Rin's encounter with said Demon King in the Forbidden Forest last year.

"The Demon King of Earth, very good. Longbottom?"

Neville hesitated before answering. "Uh… Beelzebub?"

"Demon King of Insects. You had an encounter with his kin, the chuchi, last year if you recall," Shura remembered. She then turned her attention to the Slytherins. "Shima! You've been quiet. Name a Demon King."

An Japanese boy with black hair who was reclining in his seat almost fell out before answering. "Uh… okay… Samael," Shima answered.

Shura's eyebrow twitched at the mentioning of a certain clown-like demon's real name. "The Demon King of Space and Time," she said through gritted teeth. "Ferret! How about you?"

Malfoy was caught off guard. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. "I don't know. Isn't there one for spirits or something?" he answered in a tone that suggested he didn't care.

"Demon King of Spirits, Azazel. Do you want a glass of warm milk with your nap?" Shura retorted. Everyone snickered at the exchange as Malfoy's face turned bright pink again.

Shura then scanned the classroom to see who else she could victimize. "Kamiki! Five down, three more left. Name one!"

The four Gryffindors turned and saw a Slytherin girl with red eyes and purple hair tied in pigtails. Rin noticed that she had the smallest eyebrows he'd ever seen. "Polkabrows" was the first thing that came to mind.

"Astaroth, King of Rot," she answered matter-of-factly. The way she held herself said that she was a proud, no-nonsense kind of girl.

"Very good. Now for the sake of time, I'll just tell ya the other two: Egyn, King of Water and Iblis, King of Fire," Shura continued. She looked around the classroom, surveying the students. "Is this gonna become a first-day-of-term tradition? Write this down!"

Everyone scrambled, gathering parchment and quills. All except Hermione, who was writing everything down the entire time.

~0~0~0~

Transfigurations was as difficult as it was last year. Professor McGonagall had them take a ton of notes before having everyone turn beetles into buttons.

Harry was having a difficult time keeping his beetle to stay still long enough for him to do anything to it. Rin decided that he needed to resume his tutoring with Professor Dumbledore after a single blue flame spurted out of his wand, which caught the beetle on fire and ultimately killing it. Poor Ron had it the worst. His wand was broken upon crash landing into the Whomping Willow and he tried fixing it with Spellotape. Now his wand was crackling and sparking at random. Every time Ron tried to transfigure his beetle, it was engulfed in thick grey smoke that smelled like rotten eggs. Unable to see what he was doing, Ron accidentally squashed his beetle with his elbow. McGonagall was anything but pleased.

Everyone was relieved when the lunch bell rang and everyone filed out except for Harry, Ron and Rin.

Ron starting banging his defective wand against his desk. "Stupid… useless… thing," he grumbled.

"Write home for another one," Harry suggested.

"I think your mom will understand," Rin added. Ron's wand started letting out bangs that sounded like gunshots.

"Oh yeah, and get another Howler back," Ron retorted. "_It's your own fault your wand got snapped -_"

They eventually left the classroom and made their way to the Great Hall. Ron's scowl only deepened when Hermione showed up with a handful of buttons she managed to turn her beetles into.

Rin also had a scowl of his own upon seeing Hermione's beetle-buttons. "Show off," he growled.

"So, what do we have this afternoon?" asked Harry as he helped himself to a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione answered immediately. "Professor Lockhart is teaching."

The boys all groaned. Rin noticed something odd about Hermione's timetable that was sticking out of her bag. He snatched it and saw what it was.

"Are those hearts around the words 'Defense Against the Dark Arts?!'" he asked incredulously. Harry and Ron could only look at Hermione pityingly.

"Seriously, Hermione?" Ron flatly asked.

Hermione snatched her timetable out of Rin's hand, her face red as Ron's hair. "Stay out of other people's things," she scolded.

* * *

**I know some people will be in an uproar about which houses I've put the Exwires in, but let me explain: **

**For starters, Shiemi is a natural Hufflepuff. She's a loyal friend and a hard worker. All she wants is to make friends.**

**Secondly, if you've been reading the manga, you'll understand why I've put Shima in Slytherin. Plus, I've put a little twist to his character that will surprise you, but you'll have to wait to find out what it is (FYI, Shima didn't dye his hair pink until he went to True Cross Academy so until he turns 15, his hair will be its natural black).**

**Lastly, Izumo may be kind and considerate despite her cold attitude, but she's also manipulative. She also takes pride in her family lineage. Relax, though, she's one of those few likeable Slytherins we hardly hear about (*cough* Snape *cough*).**

**Okay, that's all we'll be meeting this chapter. I'm trying to figure out when the gang will meet Konekomaru and Bon. **

**Review or I'll send _you_ a Howler!**


	8. Pixie Problems

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or Blue Exorcist!**

**There! Now that that's out of the way, let me start by saying, that this is not my best work. The first half is from the original source material (again, I DO NOT OWN!), the second half is filler I made up so I can, again, make it my own.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Pixie Problems**

Rin and the others made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where they saw several portraits of their teacher smiling and winking at them. One of the portraits even showed Lockhart painting a portrait of himself! Rin grimaced.

'_Humility is clearly not in this guy's vocabulary.'_

Harry sat at his desk and started piling his books around him, hoping Lockhart wouldn't see him when class started.

Rin snorted. "Are you hot or are you _that_ embarrassed by all the attention Lockhart is giving you?" he mockingly asked his friend.

Ron snickered as well. "You could fry an egg on your face. You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny. They'll be starting a fan club."

Colin Creevey was a first-year Gryffindor who already earned a reputation of taking pictures of everyone and everything with his camera. He already idolized Harry to the point where the scarred boy had to think of any excuse to get as far away from the kid as possible.

"Shut up!" Harry snapped.

"So, you guys think Lockhart is as great a wizard as he makes himself out to be?" asked Rin as he took a seat behind Harry.

"Doubt it," said Ron. "Anyone who brags about his accomplishments this much can't be that great."

Hermione sat in front of Harry and turned to the boys. "You lot obviously haven't read any of Lockhart's books," she said.

"Why would we?" asked Ron. "I took one look in one of his books and all I read was how great he was."

"Rubbish."

"Hermione, come on," Rin argued. "Harry's ten times more famous than Lockhart is without even trying." Harry turned bright red at this praise. "Don't act all modest, Harry. You know it's the truth."

Lockhart then entered the room and cleared his throat. He then flashed everyone his signature smile as he walked up and down the classroom. He picked up Neville's copy of _Travels with Trolls_ and held it up next to his own face.

"Me," he said with a wink. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, third class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five time winner of _Witch Weekly_'s Most Charming Smile Award - but I won't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon banshee by _smiling_ at her!"

He chuckled at his own joke but no one laughed (a few witches gave a few weak smiles at best). Rin groaned. '_No wonder Dad and Harry can't stand this guy!'_

Lockhart ignored the lack of response and continued. "I see you've all bought the complete set of my books. Well done!" ('_Not that we had much choice.'_) "I thought we'd start today with a little quiz." The entire class groaned. "Nothing to worry about - just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in." After he finished passing out the test papers, Lockhart returned to the front of the classroom. "You have thirty minutes. Start - _now_!"

Rin looked at his test paper and struggled to keep his jaw from falling onto his desk as he read it:

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_

_What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?_

Rin flipped through the entire quiz, three pages total, and saw that the entire quiz didn't have anything relevant to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He looked to Ron and Harry and gestured to his quiz with a 'can-you-believe-this-guy?!' look. They gave him an identical look. All three boys resignedly sighed and wrote answers to their quizzes.

~0~0~0~

It was the longest half-hour of the boys' life. When it was finally up, Lockhart collected the quizzes and started rifling through them in front of the class.

"Tut, tut - hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color was lilac. I said so in _Year with a Yeti_. And a few of you need to read _Weekend with a Werewolf_ more carefully - I clearly stated in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!" Lockhart explained with another wink.

Rin had half a mind to start banging his head against his desk.

'_This guy can't be real!'_

Ron looked like he wanted to do the same thing. Harry sank lower into his fence of books. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were trying to silence their laughter. Rin noticed that Hermione and all of the girls in the classroom were staring in awe of Lockhart. Some of them were swooning and giving him goo-goo eyes.

"...but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and to market my own range of hair-care products - good girl! In fact, -" he flipped Hermione's test over. "-Full marks! Where is Miss Granger?"

Hermione shakily raised her hand. Rin, Ron, and Harry all facepalmed. How could the smartest one in their group not see that this guy was full of himself?

"Excellent!" Lockhart beamed. "Quite excellent! Ten points to Gryffindor! And so to business!" He went to his desk and picked up a covered cage and placed it on top of it. "Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know that no harm can befall you whilst I am here." ('_I doubt it!'_) "I must ask you not to scream. It might PROVOKE THEM!"

At that moment, Lockhart whipped off the cover to reveal a cage full of what appeared to be several little blue aliens with wings and big black eyes.

"What the hell are those?" asked Rin.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies," Lockhart answered.

Seamus snorted in laughter. "They're not _dangerous_, are they?" he choked out in-between laughs.

"Don't be so sure, Mr. Finnigan," Lockhart replied confidently. "Devilish tricky little blighters, they are."

"They don't look like the 'foulest creatures known to wizardkind,'" Rin said skeptically.

Lockhart smirked at the blue-haired boy. "In that case, Mr. Okumura, let's see what you make of them," he said in response. He opened the cage and all hell broke loose.

Pixies flew everywhere and destroyed everything they could get their tiny little fingers on. Pages were ripped from books, school supplies were tossed out of students' school bags, and poor Neville was lifted by the ears and was hung from a chandelier!

"You _had_ to open your mouth!" Seamus reprimanded Rin.

"Shut up, Seamus!"

"Calm down, now! They're only pixies," Lockhart assured everyone. He whipped out his wand. "_Peskipiksi Pesternomi_!" he recited. Nothing happened. Instead, one of the pixies grabbed his wand and threw it out the window. Out of options, Lockhart fled into his office, leaving the students to fend for themselves.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rin asked incredulously as he swatted a pixie away from Lavender Brown's shirt collar with his copy of _Break with a Banshee_.

"Can you believe him?" Ron roared as he swiped at a pixie that bit his ear.

"He just wants to give us hands-on experience," Hermione defended as she used a Freezing Charm on two pixies and stuffing them into the cage.

"'Hands-on?'" Rin repeated incredulously.

"Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing -" Harry tried.

"Rubbish," Hermione dismissed. "You've read his books - look at all the things he's done -"

"'Rubbish,'" Rin parroted.

~0~0~0~

Later on in the week, Rin broke away from the others to meet up with someone he hadn't had a chance to see since his return to Hogwarts. He found the portrait of fruit near the Hufflepuff entrance and tickled the pear. The fruit giggled and turned into a door handle. He opened the portrait hole and went in.

Rin found himself inside the school kitchens, filled with dozens of house elves. His blue eyes scanned the room until he saw who he was looking for.

"Dolly!" he called out as he shut the portrait door. All of the house elves turned in his direction. One house elf in particular perked up at the mentioning of her name and the sound of his voice.

"Rin Okumura!" Dolly squeaked as she made her way to Rin. "It is an honor to have you back in the kitchens! Does Rin Okumura wish for 'mochi' or 'rice balls?'"

Rin pulled out a piece of parchment with a recipe for dango written on it. "Wanna try making something new?" he asked eagerly.

Dolly's tennis-ball sized eyes widened in awe at the sight of a new recipe. "Rin Okumura has a new recipe for Dolly and the other house elves?" she asked.

Rin nodded. "Yeah. I've taught you guys how to make rice balls and mochi. I thought I'd keep that tradition going if that's alright with you."

Dolly and the other elves nodded. "It would be an honor, Rin Okumura!" Dolly exclaimed.

"Please teach us, sir!"

"We want to make more of these strange snacks, sir!"

Rin couldn't help but grin, happy that he was back in his natural culinary element. Dango was really easy to make, as Rin was able to make the first batch in less than five minutes (he wanted to make enough for the house elves to enjoy too). Just like last year, all of the house elves loved the confection that Rin made for them.

~0~0~0~

Yukio was walking through the aisles of books in the library, searching for books on demons when he noticed a familiar head of long red hair sitting at a table near the window writing in what Yukio assumed to be a diary.

"Ginny?" he softly called out to avoid the librarian, Madam Pince's, wrath.

The red-haired girl looked up from her writing and swiftly shut her diary and put it away. "Hello, Yukio," she said shyly.

Yukio walked up to her and gestured to the chair across her. "May I?" Ginny nodded and Yukio took a seat. "How are you liking Hogwarts so far?" he inquired.

Ginny casually shrugged. "It's alright," she answered.

Yukio raised an eyebrow. "'Alright?' You talked about Hogwarts non-stop over the summer. And if you weren't, you'd talk about Harry -"

"Shhhhh!" Ginny shushed him. "Not so loud! Word travels fast, I don't want anyone to know!"

Yukio adjusted his glasses. "I won't say anything, since it's none of my business, but you can at least talk to him. He won't bite."

Ginny looked down into her lap. "I know, but he's always with my brother, your brother, or Hermione Granger. It'd feel kind of awkward to just suddenly join in their conversations," she lamented. "How did you two become such good friends with Harry and Ron?"

Yukio looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought, before answering. "We met them on the Hogwarts Express last year. We couldn't find an empty compartment so we asked them if there were any empty seats in theirs and the rest is history."

"I see," Ginny said, her gaze returning to her lap.

Yukio then saw what might be wrong with Ginny. "Have you made any new friends yet?" he asked. Ginny shook her head no. Yukio gave her a sympathetic smile. "Give it time. It's only the first week. You'll be making friends in no time. Besides, you already made a friend in Kuro."

Ginny giggled at the memory of the demonic cat's antics on the train. "He is very cute," she remarked.

"I'm sure he won't mind if you give him a pet every now and then, especially if you scratch him behind the ears. He loves that," Yukio advised.

Ginny nodded in agreement before returning to her melancholy mood. Yukio released a sigh. He didn't know if this was considered a good deed or just a way to get rid of a problem, but frankly he was running out of ideas for cheering Ginny up. "There's a girl in Ravenclaw who's a first-year like you. She could use a friend…"

~0~0~0~

Rin headed back towards Gryffindor Tower after his visit with the house elves when he saw two Slytherin girls, the pug-faced Pansy Parkinson and the square-built Millicent Bulstrode, picking on the Hufflepuff girl from Herbology. Unfortunately, Rin couldn't recall her name.

"She's covered in dirt every time we see her," Pansy teased. "Do you Hufflepuffs ever bathe?"

The Hufflepuff girl started hyperventilating and slowly sank to the floor as the two girls closed in on her.

"Having a panic attack now? You scare so easily! Boo!" Millicent taunted.

The girl's breathing was becoming more erratic as she suddenly broke out into a cold sweat. Rin decided that enough was enough.

"Hey!" he barked out as he ran towards the girls. "Leave her alone! Can't you see she's freaking out?" Millicent and Pansy turned in Rin's direction.

Pansy smirked. "Looks like the earthworm has a boyfriend," she taunted. Millicent snorted in a way that reminded Rin of a pig.

"An earthworm is better looking than both of you combined," Rin retorted. He then whipped out his wand. "Get lost! I'm not afraid to use magic on a couple of girls."

Pansy and Millicent then left Rin and the Hufflepuff girl alone, not wanting to take their chances against him. As soon as they were gone, Rin put his wand away, smirking that those girls fell for his bluff. He then turned his attention to the Hufflepuff girl. Her pretty green eyes that reminded Rin of emeralds stared at nothing but the floor. Her pale face was still beaded with cold sweat.

"You okay?" Rin asked as he crouched down to her level. The girl's eyes shifted in Rin's direction, wide like a terrified animal. "Stay here. The boys' bathroom is just around the corner. I'll get a wet towel."

Rin dashed off and entered the boys' bathroom. He grabbed a towel that was near the sink and ran it under cold water. He then ran back out and returned to the girl.

"Here, put this on the back of your neck," said Rin. "My dad did this whenever my brother and I felt nauseous."

The girl shakily took the wet towel from Rin with a small "thank you" and put it on the back of her neck. Her breathing was becoming less labored but it was still shaky.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"A… little…" she breathed.

Rin frowned. She didn't sound better. He didn't know how to treat panic attacks. These kinds of things were Yukio's specialty. Wait a minute…

Rin gently helped the Hufflepuff back to her feet. "Can you stand? I'll take you to the Hospital Wing."

She nodded and the two slowly walked towards the Hospital Wing. Rin hoped that Madam Pomfrey would be able to treat something like this.

"Mr. Okumura! Not even a week into the term and you're already… Oh! What's happened here?" Madam Pomfrey said as soon as they entered.

"I don't know," said Rin. "Two girls from Slytherin were ganging up on her and she started freaking out. She's not breathing right and she's sweating like crazy. I tried putting a wet towel on her neck to calm her down but I don't think it's enough."

The school matron got a good look at the blond girl. "Poor thing. First one of the term. Get her to a bed, Okumura. I'll get her something to calm her down," she said and disappeared into the back room.

Rin guided her to the closest bed and then he sat down on a nearby footstool.

"O… Oku… mura?" she breathed.

Rin perked up. "Yeah, that's me. Rin Okumura."

The girl smiled a little. "Do you… know… Yuki?" she breathed.

Rin stiffened. "Yuki? You mean Yukio?"

She nodded. "I… call him Yuki. He's… my Transfigurations tutor…"

Rin remained sitting stiff as a board as Madam Pomfrey returned and administered a Calming Draught to her patient.

"There we go, dear. Slowly now. I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you, Moriyama," said Madam Pomfrey.

This snapped Rin out of his state of shock. Now he had a name for this girl. As soon as Pomfrey left the room again, Rin continued talking to her.

"So your name is Moriyama?" he asked.

Moriyama, now calmer and had a bit more color in her cheeks, nodded. "My name is Shiemi Moriyama. It's nice to meet you, Rin. Thank you so much for helping me."

Rin blushed and looked away. "It… It was nothing," he stammered. "Are those girls always bugging you?"

Shiemi nodded. "They've been bullying me since last year. It got to the point where I'd start having panic attacks or I'd get so sick I couldn't leave the dorms," she explained.

Rin frowned at this revelation. "Well next time those hags give you a hard time, just come find me or my friends."

Shiemi blinked before widening her eyes. "Oh! You and Yuki are friends with Harry Potter, aren't you?" she inquired.

Rin stiffened again. '_Again with the Yuki thing?'_

"Yeah, we are. Harry's not afraid of sticking up to the Slytherins. And we always have his back," he said.

"He sounds like a good person. You guys must be really close."

Rin smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. We've been through a lot last year, as I'm sure you probably know."

Shiemi nodded as Madam Pomfrey returned.

"Are you feeling better, Miss Moriyama?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

The school matron nodded. "As soon as you are able, you may leave."

"I'll take her back to the Hufflepuff basement," Rin offered.

Shiemi gave Rin a thankful smile as she slowly sat up in bed. As soon as she was ready, Shiemi and Rin left the Hospital Wing.

"There you are, Rin!" said Hermione as they were halfway to the Hufflepuff basement. "Oh! You're Moriyama, aren't you?"

Shiemi straightened up at being addressed so suddenly. "Y-Yes!"

"Shiemi had a run-in with some Slytherin girls and I helped her out," Rin explained. "Oh, right! Shiemi, this is my friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Shiemi Moriyama."

Shiemi bowed down in front of Hermione. "N-Nice to meet you, Miss Granger!" she stuttered.

Hermione flushed a little at being addressed so formally. "Nice to… meet you too, Shiemi," she stuttered back. "Is it alright to address you that way? Or do you prefer your last name?"

Shiemi flinched. "Oh! You… You can call me Shiemi if you want."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. You're Japanese and Rin and Yukio told me that addressing people by their first names depends on how well you know them. I didn't want to offend you or anything like that. Very fascinating, other cultures…"

"Hermione, you're ranting," Rin interrupted.

Hermione caught herself. "I'm so sorry, I tend to do that. I'll see you in the common room, Rin."

"See ya, Hermione."

Hermione left and Rin continued escorting Sheimi.

"Miss Granger seems pretty nice," she noted.

Rin chuckled. "Yeah. We didn't always get along. Me, Harry, and Ron didn't like her one bit at first. It took the mountain troll on Halloween for us to become good friends."

"I remember that!" Shiemi exclaimed. "You were the ones who took down that troll?"

"Yeah, it was pretty intense! I protected Hermione, Harry shoved his wand up the troll's nose, and Ron knocked it out with it's own club," Rin explained.

"That's amazing!"

The two of them continued to talk about the events of last year as Rin continued escorting Shiemi to the Hufflepuff basement.

* * *

**Like I said, not my best work. I wanted Rin to meet up with Dolly again since you guys seem to like them interacting with each other. I also wanted Rin to meet up with Shiemi (I'm a RinXShiemi shipper) again. She won't be a major character in this story, but she'll be seen from time to time.**

**Keep reviewing, folks! You guys did great last chapter! Keep it up!**


	9. Mudbloods

**I think this turned out alright. The first quarter of this is somewhat original (not completely but you get the idea), while the rest is more or less a retelling. I already have plans weaving in my head for the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Mudbloods**

Harry spent the rest of the week dodging both Professor Lockhart and Colin Creevey, who seemed to have memorized his schedule. Every time he saw one of them, he'd run in the opposite direction even if he was with his friends.

Classes weren't much better. Ron's wand kept malfunctioning. In Charms, his wand shot itself out of his hand and hit Professor Flitwick right in-between the eyes, causing a disgusting green boil to sprout from the spot it had struck. Rin spent most of his time after dinner practicing his spellcasting on the grounds until curfew. He struggled to remember everything Professor Dumbledore taught him. Unfortunately, most of what he taught Rin was a blur, making the boy vow to ask Dumbledore for more lessons the next time he saw him.

Needless to say, it was a relief that the weekend finally came. The group agreed to meet with Hagrid on Saturday. When Rin and Ron woke up on Saturday, however, they found Harry's bed was empty.

"I don't see Harry anywhere. Where is he?" asked Rin as he helped himself to an omelet in the Great Hall.

"He's at Quidditch practice," Ron replied before taking a sip of orange juice. "He wrote a note to us saying where he'd be. Plus, Fred and George aren't here either."

"Oh, right. They're the Gryffindor Beaters, aren't they?" Rin recalled. Ron nodded.

"Hello there!" Colin Creevey greeted, suddenly popping up out of nowhere, along with a flash from his camera that was hanging from around his neck. "Have either of you seen Harry?"

Ron and Rin tried their best not to groan while rubbing the spots out of their eyes.

"He's probably at the Quidditch pitch," Ron answered through gritted teeth.

Colin perked up even more. "Quidditch? I've never seen Quidditch before. Are you two going to watch? Can I come?"

Rin's eyebrow was twitching at this point. "If we say yes, will you promise to leave us alone?" he said irritably.

Colin seemed unfazed by Rin's tone. "Sure! Just let me know when you're leaving," he said. He then left to join his fellow first years.

"Tell me we're not seriously taking that little pest with us to watch Harry's Quidditch practice," said Ron.

"If we're careful, we may be able to leave before he notices," said Rin. Ron nodded and gave Rin their thumbs-up salute which he returned. A book was suddenly slammed on the table catching both boys' attention.

"Good morning," Hermione greeted.

"Where have you been?" asked Ron.

Rin looked at the book and promptly frowned. "You're reading _Break with a Banshee_ again? How many times are you going to read Lockhart's books, Hermione?"

Hermione blushed and helped herself to some scrambled eggs and a bowl of oatmeal.

~0~0~0~

The trio managed to break away from the annoying first year and made their way to the Quidditch pitch. To their surprise, no one was flying around yet.

"Where is everybody?" asked Rin. "Did we miss it?"

"Doubt it," said Ron. "Maybe Wood's teaching them some new stuff. You know, new maneuvers and strategies for this year. Stuff like that."

"That would make sense," Hermione agreed.

Two figures approached the trio as they were talking. A quick look at the glasses and moles on the first figure's face told them that it was Yukio. The second one, much to everyone's chagrin, was Colin Creevey.

"'Morning," Yukio greeted. "Have they started yet?"

"Not yet," said Ron.

"Why did you bring that shutterbug with you?" Rin asked in a harsh whisper.

"Colin? He wanted to watch Harry play Quidditch and he couldn't find you," Yukio innocently explained. The boy in question wandered off to explore the stands and take an occasional photo.

"He's a pain in the neck," said Rin. "Lockhart loves that he carries his camera all the time."

Ron nodded. "Do you have any idea how many times Lockhart had Creevey take a picture of him and Harry this week?" he recalled.

The Gryffindor team finally emerged from the locker room and took off into the air. Clicking noises were soon heard throughout the stands. The teammates stopped what they were doing, looking around to see where it was coming from. Harry kept his head down, knowing the source of the noise. George Weasley then pointed to something on the ground. Everyone, including the onlookers, saw the green-clad players of the Slytherin team.

"Uh-oh! I smell trouble," Ron muttered. The three Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw got up from their seats and started walking towards the two Quidditch teams.

Wood, along with Harry and the Weasley twins, landed and dismounted from their brooms. The rest of the Gryffindor team followed suit.

"Flint!" Wood called out to the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"

Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He also had a trollish look on his face. To Rin, it looked like he had those goofy teeth pranksters put in their mouths to look funny (only Flint's were his actual teeth).

"Plenty of room for all of us, Wood," Flint said.

"But I booked the field!" Wood exclaimed, spitting with rage. "I booked it!"

"Easy, Wood," Flint said boredly. "I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape." He handed a rolled up parchment to Wood.

"'_I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch pitch owing to the need to train their new Seeker_,'" Wood read aloud. "You've got a new Seeker? Who?"

Rin and the others finally caught up to everyone when Draco Malfoy emerged from the Slytherin team, his trademark smirk present on his face.

"Malfoy?" said Harry.

"What's this clown doing here?" asked Rin.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" asked Fred, looking at the pale-faced boy with disdain. Whether it was from the stories Arthur had told his children throughout their lives or from the stories Ron and the others told them Harry didn't know.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint, as the whole Slytherin team smiled more widely. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team." All seven green-clad Quidditch players held out their broomsticks.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Those are Nimbus Two-Thousand and Ones!" he exclaimed.

"That's right," Malfoy confirmed. "You see, Weasley, unlike some, _my_ father can afford the best." Rin snorted and Yukio chuckled, catching Malfoy's attention. "What's so funny, Okumura?"

The twins looked at each other, briefly wondering which one Malfoy was addressing, before Rin spoke first. "Is that what that broomstick really is?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?"

Yukio sighed dramatically. "If even Rin can see those broomsticks for what they really are, then you're dumber than he is."

"Hey!" Rin exclaimed.

"Just say it, Okumura!" Malfoy barked.

"One man's gift is another man's bribe," Yukio stated.

Hermione caught on to what the twins were saying. "At least the Gryffindor team didn't have to _buy_ their way in," she remarked. "_They_ got in on pure talent."

Rin smirked triumphantly. "Take that, Malfoy!"

Malfoy looked in Hermone's direction, his smug look now gone. "Nobody's asked for your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he sneered.

Immediately there was an uproar. Flint had to jump in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George from lunging at him.

"_How dare you_!" Alicia Spinnet shrieked. Rin, Yukio, Hermione, and Harry could only look on in confusion. Why was everyone so upset?

Ron pulled out his damaged wand and pointed it at Malfoy. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he yelled. "Eat slugs!"

A loud bang echoed throughout the stadium as a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him backwards onto the grass.

Ron's friends ran up to him to see if he was hurt.

"Ron! Ron! Are you alright?" Hermione squealed. Ron managed to prop himself up on his forearms. His face looked absolutely green.

"Say something, anything!" Rin pleaded.

Ron released a loud belch and several slugs erupted from his mouth and landed on the ground next to him. The Slytherin team roared in laughter at the spectacle. Flint was doubled over, holding onto his broom for support. Malfoy was on all fours pounding the ground with his fists. The Gryffindor team, however, crowded around Ron in the hopes of helping him as he kept barfing up slugs. As much as they wanted to help, however, no one wanted to touch him.

"What should we do?" asked Yukio as he and Rin helped Ron to his feet. "Take him to Madam Pomfrey?"

"Let's take him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," Harry suggested.

~0~0~0~

"Better out than in," Hagrid said cheerfully as he gave Ron a copper basin. "Get 'em all up, Ron."

"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," Hermione said anxiously, watching Ron's head disappear into the basin. The sound of retching soon followed.

"You seriously need to get a new wand," Yukio added.

Ron pulled his head up to say something but dunked it back into the basin to puke up more slugs.

"So, Hagrid, we saw Professor Lockhart leaving your house before we got here," Rin said in a desperate attempt to shift everyone's attention away from the slug-spewing boy.

Hagrid readily frowned. "Saw that, didn' yeh? Been givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well," he growled, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and got his tea kettle out. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of that was true, I'll eat my kettle."

"Agreed," Harry, Rin and Yukio agreed.

Hermione, however, disagreed. "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job -"

"He was the _only_ man for the job," Hagrid said, offering them all a plate of treacle fudge. "An' I mean the _only_ one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' to think the job's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. Hope he doesn' last long for Shura's sake. Taken a fancy to her, Lockhart."

If Yukio's jaws weren't glued shut by the treacle fudge, it'd be on the floor. "He has a crush on Shura?!" he exclaimed through his glued teeth.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rin asked through his teeth, also glued together by the treacle fudge.

Hagrid shook his head no. "No joke. She can't stand 'im though. Even gave me all the signed photos he gave her. Said to use it for me fireplace," he said, gesturing to the fireplace where his tea kettle was heating up some water. The boys could only give the photos satisfied smirks while Hermione could only look in horror (although Ron's smirk was short-lived before ducking his head back into the basin).

Hagrid removed the kettle from the fire and made some tea before sitting down. He jerked his head in Ron's direction. "So, who was he tryin' ter curse?"

Yukio managed to pry his jaws apart to answer. "Malfoy. He called Hermione something, something rude. Everyone was in an uproar when he said it."

Rin nodded. "He called Hermione a… what was it? A mud-something? Dirt-blood?" he tried to recall as he tried to pry his jaws apart. This treacle fudge was like a super-strong glue!

"It _was_ bad," Ron said hoarsely, emerging from the basin, looking pale and sweaty. "Malfoy called her a 'Mudblood,' Hagrid -"

Ron dove back out of sight to release a fresh wave of slugs. Hagrid looked livid.

"He did not!" he growled at Hermione.

"He did," she confirmed. "I don't know what it means, but it sounded rude."

"What's a Mudblood?" Harry asked innocently.

"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of," Ron gasped, pulling his head out of the basin. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who's Muggleborn - you know, non-magic parents."

"Like Hermione," Yukio realized.

Ron nodded. "There are some wizards - like Malfoy's family - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pureblood." He gave a small burp and a single slug fell into his hand, which he tossed into the basin before continuing. "I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make a difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom - he's pureblood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."

"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do," Hagrid said proudly, causing Hermione's face to turn a bright shade of magenta. Rin nodded in agreement, vowing to knock some of Malfoy's teeth out for calling his friend such a name. He finally managed to pry his jaws apart, but he felt something was pulled out of his mouth as well. He spat it out into his hand.

"Look, Yukio! Another tooth!" Rin exclaimed.

Yukio looked at the object in his brother's hand. "Well, that's all of them."

* * *

**Hehehehehehe! I loved writing about Lockhart's infatuation with Shura! Trust me, he's not going to give up that easily!**

**Get ready for the next chapter. And keep those reviews coming. Positive reviews are good for the soul and the self-esteem.**


	10. Whispers

**Sorry for lack of updates, folks. I've been binge-watching 'Lucifer' on Netflix and trying not to get sick with the coronavirus. So far, so good.**

**This chapter is a little on the short side. Think of it as a prelude to the first attack.**

**Before you start reading, let me tell you guys to NOT give into fear of the coronavirus. Fear is like a disease; it spreads rapidly and only gets worse the more you think about it. As long as you wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough/sneeze, you'll be fine.**

**Okay, now that that's been addressed, let's continue on.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Whispers**

Kuro happily licked his chops as he left the kitchens late that night. Grilled salmon with _a lot_ of silvervine sake (Shiro had Dumbledore keep a stash of the stuff in the kitchens. No student was allowed access to it; the house elves made sure of it). He felt torn about which tower to spend the night. He preferred Gryffindor Tower, but Ravenclaw Tower was close by…

"_Come…"_

Kuro jolted, causing him to sober up quickly. What was that?

"_...come to me…"_

The hissing voice sent shivers down the cat sidhe's spine, causing his fur to stand on end.

"_...Let me rip you… Let me tear you…"_

Kuro arched his back and let out a hiss. He felt threatened. No demon should feel threatened unless there was a really powerful exorcist present. Since there were none around (not even a coal tar, which was weird since one would occasionally float by) then who or _what_ was causing the fur on his two tails to poof up?

"Kuro?"

The demonic cat turned his head and saw the scarred boy Rin and Yukio called Harry walking through the corridor. He looked paler than usual and appeared rather scared of something, as if he was hearing the same voice Kuro was hearing.

"What's the matter, Kuro?" Harry asked as he approached the cat.

"_...Let me kill you…"_

Both of them looked around to find the source of the voice, causing Kuro to hiss again. Harry looked at Kuro with wide eyes.

"Can you hear it too?" he asked. Kuro looked at Harry and nodded. Harry's widened even more. "Can you understand me?"

Kuro rolled his eyes. Of course, he could understand Harry! He could understand everything everyone said!

"_Kill… Kill…"_

Kuro arched his back again and hissed. Whatever or whoever was saying that wanted to hurt someone. Since Harry was the twins' friend, Kuro's protection extended to him as well (that also included the bushy-haired girl and the redheaded boy with the weird rat). He jumped into Harry's arms (being mindful of how much strength was put into the jump since he often knocked over the twins whenever he did that). It was a sloppy catch but Harry managed.

"Right, let's get back to Gryffindor Tower, shall we?" Harry said nervously. Kuro nodded earnestly.

Harry hurriedly made his way to Gryffindor Tower. Kuro kept a sharp eye on every shadow in the castle. If anything happened to Harry, Kuro would be letting Shiro down.

They finally made it back to the common room. Harry dashed upstairs to the boys' dorm. Ron was still not back yet from his detention with Filch. Rin, however, was sound asleep, mouth wide open, a trail of drool leaking down his chin.

"Rin! Rin!" Harry hissed. "Wake up!"

Rin rolled over in response. Kuro retaliated by jumping out of Harry's arms and headbutting Rin, waking him up.

"Gah! Yukio did it!" Rin cried.

"Ssshhhhh!" Harry shushed.

"Wha… Harry…?" Rin said sleepily.

Ron then entered the dorm, rubbing his right arm and smelled strongly of polish.

"My muscles have all seized up," he groaned, sinking into his bed. "Fourteen times he made me buff up that Quidditch cup before he was satisfied. And then I had another slug attack all over a Special Award for Services to the School. Took ages to get the slime off…"

Rin yawned. "How'd it go with Lockhart?"

Keeping his voice low, as to not wake Neville, Seamus, and Dean, Harry told Rin and Ron exactly what happened.

"And Lockhart said he couldn't hear it?" asked Ron.

"But Kuro could?" Rin added. Harry could see the frowns on their faces in the moonlight.

"D'you think he was lying?" asked Ron. "But I don't get it - even someone invisible would've had to open the door."

"How was Kuro able to hear it?" asked Rin. Harry could only shrug.

"Maybe you heard a demon," Ron suggested.

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't have a temptaint. It couldn't have been a demon," he said.

"A ghost? Or maybe Peeves was messing around," Rin suggested.

"No, it didn't sound like Peeves or any of the ghosts in the school," said Harry.

Rin yawned. "Can we discuss this in the morning? I'm tired."

Ron yawned too. "I agree. I'm exhausted."

~0~0~0~

The following morning, the Gryffindor boys (plus Kuro) managed to drag Hermione and Yukio to the library. Harry then told them what he'd heard the previous night.

"That is rather far-fetched," Yukio stated after Harry was finished explaining what happened last night.

"How could Kuro be able to hear whatever you heard?" asked Hermione.

"I have no idea," Harry answered. "We only have guesses at this point."

While they were all talking, Kuro was looking in every direction to make sure no one would harm the children.

"You sure it wasn't a demon?" Ron suggested again.

Harry nodded. "Absolutely. But how could Kuro and I hear it though? I don't even have a temptaint."

Yukio gripped his chin. "This doesn't make sense. How can a demon and someone without a temptaint hear the same thing? Better yet another person, who may or may not have a temptaint, can't hear it? What does that say about all of this?"

That was the biggest question of all. How could Harry, who didn't have a temptaint, be able to hear something that Kuro, a demon, was able to hear? Lockhart wasn't able to hear it, so what made Harry and Kuro so special?

"Perhaps we should speak with Professor Shura," Hermione suggested. "After all, she's the Demonology professor and is a high ranking exorcist at the Knights of the True Cross. Maybe she could shed some light over what Harry and Kuro heard."

~0~0~0~

Ron knocked on the door to Professor Shura's office. They heard shuffling, furniture crashing, and cursing. When the door opened, Professor Shura looked like she had literally crawled out of bed. Her fiery red hair was out of its usual ponytail and disheveled. Her sleeping kimono was dangerously close to falling off. It was quite clear that she was sleeping off a hangover.

"Don't knock so loudly," she mumbled as she rubbed her bloodshot eyes. She then saw who was standing in front of her. "Oh, it's you. What do you guys want?"

"Sorry for bothering you on a Sunday, Professor, but we need your help with something," Hermione started.

"The homework assignment isn't due until Wednesday, Granger," Shura drawled.

"No, it's not about the assignment, ma'am, it's something that happened last night," Hermione explained.

Shura sighed and opened the door wider. The quintet, plus cat, entered the office. She sat down at her desk.

"Okay, start from the beginning," she said as she put her elbows on her desk and held her head. Harry then told Shura everything that had happened last night. Shura then blinked. "So, you and Kuro could hear this voice but Cueball couldn't?"

Harry nodded.

Ron looked confused. "'Cueball?'"

"My nickname for Lockhart. I would have called him Baldy but someone else already has that name," Shura explained. "Don't go calling him that, though."

"What's a cueball?" Ron asked.

"I'll explain later," Yukio answered.

Harry got back to the issue at hand. "So, what do you think? How could I hear it if I don't have a temptaint?" he asked.

Shura closed her eyes deep in thought for awhile before finally speaking. "This is a new one for me," she admitted. "Take this with a grain of salt, it's only a theory: I don't think what Potter heard was a demon. The fact that he has no temptaint is proof enough."

"But what about Kuro?" asked Rin. "How come he can hear what Harry heard?"

Shura gripped her chin in thought. "Another theory: Kuro is a cat sidhe, which is a demon that possesses cats. That said, the animal side of Kuro probably sensed our mystery creature and felt threatened."

"Well, that doesn't make sense," said Ron. "How can Kuro sense whatever Harry heard and thought it was a threat?"

"You forget, Kuro used to be an ordinary cat. All animals have…kind of a sixth sense. Animal instinct, you know. They can sense danger before we humans can," Shura explained. "If whatever our mystery creature can scare a powerful demon like Kuro, then you better keep your eyes peeled."

"Should you tell the Knights of the True Cross then?" asked Yukio.

"It's not a demon, so no," Shura answered grimly. "The True Cross isn't interested in anything magical. Demonic activity only, although with their alliance with the wizarding world now…"

"So what should we do?" asked Harry.

Shura looked at the scarred boy. "For now, nothing. For all you guys know, this could be a one-time thing. If it happens again, then I'll start looking into it. Until then, keep it on the downlow," she told him. "You don't want people to think you're schizophrenic now, do you?"

Ron frowned. "Schizo-wha…?"

Yukio rolled his eyes. "Again, I'll explain later."

Shura then pulled out a "Do Not Disturb" sign. "If you guys are done here, do me a favor and please put this on the outside of my door on your way out. I'm going to go back to bed and probably staying there until tomorrow," she said. She then shooed the children out.

* * *

**Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party is next and we know what that means...**

**Not sure when the next chapter is gonna be.**

**I've figured out how Harry and the others are gonna meet the rest of the exwires! I just need to organize my thoughts before writing them down!**

**Do not let the coronavirus keep you from reviewing! **


	11. Deathday

**So this chapter didn't exactly pan out as I'm sure you guys were hoping for, but once I started, my fingers wouldn't stop typing. **

**I hope you guys are staying healthy during this pandemic. I am eagerly awaiting for everything to return to normal.**

**Updates might slow down because I recently got Final Fantasy 7 Remake and I'm going to be playing that a lot!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Deathday**

October came faster than the group realized. With the change in seasons also came cold and flu season. Madam Pomfrey gave the students Pepperup potions that instantly cured them of any cold symptoms ("Do you have any idea how long doctors have been trying to find a cure for the common cold?!" Yukio exclaimed excitedly), though it left the drinker's ears smoking for several hours afterwards.

Rin was going to check out Hagrid's giant pumpkins one day when he noticed Shiemi in one of the greenhouses. Curious, he entered and saw the Hufflepuff girl tending to the plants.

"Hey, Shiemi. What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

Shiemi looked up and smiled. "Hi Rin! How are you?"

"Not bad. I was on my way to Hagrid's to check out his pumpkins and I saw you," Rin explained. "Everything okay?"

Shiemi nodded. "Yeah."

"Those Slytherin girls still bothering you?"

Shiemi sadly nodded again. "Yeah. They're still bothering me, but it's not as bad as before," she said resignedly.

Rin frowned. How could two Slytherins pick on such a sweet girl?

"You know, I meant what I said before. If they keep picking on you just let me or Harry know. We've got your back," Rin assured.

Shiemi stared at him. "You mean it? I can count on you and Harry?" she asked.

Rin nodded. "Of course. Nothing makes us happier than making a bunch of Slytherins look like idiots."

Shiemi smiled. "Thank you, Rin. Could you introduce me to your friends some time soon? They sound like nice people."

Rin smiled back. "You bet. Hermione likes you already, I can tell. Ron and Harry will like you too," he promised. "By the way, what are you doing in Greenhouse One?"

"Oh! I was watering the plants here. Professor Sprout lets me water the plants over the weekend. It reminds me of home," said Shiemi.

"Home? You live in Japan too, right?"

"Yeah. I live in True Cross Academy Town."

Rin blinked. "Where's that? Never heard of it."

"I don't really understand how to get there, but I know you can get there from Tokyo," Shiemi explained.

"I see. So you like gardening or something?" Rin asked to keep himself from blowing a fuse for trying to pinpoint where Shiemi's hometown was.

"Yes! I love gardening. My grandma taught me everything I know about it. Whenever I see these plants, I can't help but wonder if any of them are in the Garden of Amahara," said Shiemi.

"The Garden of what…?"

"The Garden of Amahara," Shiemi repeated. "My grandma told me that it's a place where God gathered every kind of plant in the world. After I came to Hogwarts and started taking Herbology, I started to wonder if any of these plants are there too."

Suddenly, Rin was curious about this garden too. "Well, if God created witches and wizards like us, then He must have created some of these weird plants," he said.

Shiemi's face brightened. "Really? You think so?"

Rin shrugged. "I don't see why not. If you ever find it, you gotta check, okay?"

Shiemi smiled and nodded. "I promise. By the way, you said you were going to check out the gamekeeper's pumpkins? I thought you'd be with your friends."

"Yeah, Harry's at Quidditch practice, Hermione is helping Ron with some homework, and Yukio is hanging out with his friends in Ravenclaw," Rin answered, not bothering to mention that he made a break for it when Hermione mentioned helping the boys with their homework. "I wanted to see Hagrid's pumpkins. I heard they're the size of his house."

Shiemi got excited. "Really? Can I… Can I come with you? I wanna see them!" she said excitedly.

Rin smiled widely to hide his blush. "Sure, you bet! I'm sure Hagrid would love to meet you."

"Really? He won't mind if we come visit?" Shiemi asked nervously.

"No way! He may seem scary but if you look up 'gentle giant' in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of him," Rin assured. "Just… don't eat anything he offers. Trust me."

~0~0~0~

_Shiro crashed into his easy chair in exhaustion. He finally got the twins down for a nap. Who knew child rearing was so difficult? He desperately wanted a smoke to calm his fried nerves but he quit for the sake of the children. _

'Maybe I shouldn't have quit cold turkey.'

DING DONG!

_Shiro shot up from his seat and quickly dashed to the front door. He opened it and saw Lily Potter standing on his front door step._

"_Thank God you're here!" he exclaimed softly. He stepped aside and let the young witch in. She took off her shoes and put on some slippers. Shiro noted that she was already showing._

"_It's no problem at all," Lily assured the priest. "You've done so much for us. It's the least I can do."_

"_You're the only person I could think of who can help me with this without asking twenty questions," Shiro explained._

_Lily smiled sadly. "It's no trouble at all. Although, I would have loved to have gotten to know Yuri more. She was a great help in Wales."_

_Shiro also smiled sadly as he led the pregnant woman to the living room and to the sofa. "If it hadn't been for her expertise, taking down Oscar Redstone would have been more of a challenge. I still can't believe he's a wizard."_

_Lily placed a hand on Shiro's arm. "You couldn't have known. There are more of us than you realize," she tried to assure the priest._

_Shiro gave the witch a deadpanned look. "Shockingly that doesn't make me feel better." Lily released a mirthless chuckle. Shiro then stood up. "But where are my manners? Let me make you some tea. I may have something that will keep your nausea at bay."_

_Lily smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that."_

_Shiro went into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove. He then went into the pantry and searched for the tea bags. After looking at his selections, he decided to just make some Earl Grey. It was a souvenir from his first trip to the UK and he thought Lily would appreciate a taste of home (whether it would help with her nausea, he didn't know). He then got out a variety of fruit and started peeling and cutting them. He didn't know much about what kind of snacks Lily (or any pregnant woman for that matter) would want with her tea, but he figured he couldn't go wrong with a variety of fruit, especially in her condition._

_He was almost finished putting the tea and the fruit on the tray when he heard one of the twins crying. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep himself from blowing a gasket. They weren't even down an hour! What could they possibly want now?_

_Shiro released a frustrated sigh and picked up the tea tray. He might as well keep Lily busy with tea and snacks while he dealt with his charges. He entered the living room again and saw Lily was nowhere to be found. In addition to his missing house guest, the crying also stopped. Confused, Shiro put the tray down on the coffee table and went to check on the twins._

_He went upstairs into the twins' room and saw Lily standing next to one of the cribs gently rocking Rin back to sleep._

"_Hush now," she whispered gently into the baby's ear as she swayed back and forth. "You just wanted to be held, didn't you?" Rin just groaned as his eyes became heavy. "Be patient with your daddy. He's very new at this but he'll get the hang of it. He loves you very much." Rin shifted in her hold before settling down again. "I wish you lived in the same town, or at least the same country. Then we can organize playdates. Would you like that?"_

_Shiro cleared his throat before entering. "I knew it was a good idea to invite you over," he said softly to avoid waking Yukio._

_Lily looked up and released a soft giggle. "My developing maternal instincts refuse to leave two helpless infants alone in your untrained care," she joked._

_Shiro chuckled. He saw that Rin was now sound asleep in Lily's arms. "How did you know he just wanted to be held?" he asked._

_Lily quietly left the bedroom, Rin still asleep, and went downstairs. She carefully laid down on the sofa and put Rin on top of her chest. Shiro soon followed her into the living room, poured her and himself a cup of tea, and sat down. _

"_I babysat a lot during the summer holidays," Lily finally answered. "Sometimes all a baby wants is to be held. Close contact and crying is the only way for a baby to communicate."_

"_May I hire you as a nanny?" Shiro asked. Lily chuckled at his joke._

"_If only," she said. "They're both so cute. I hope we can arrange playdates with them and my baby once we've stopped You-Know-Who."_

"_Just call the guy by his name," Shiro pleaded. "It'll only make the fear worse. Besides, the name's more stupid than it is scary."_

_Lily chuckled nervously. "It'll probably be less scary once this is all over."_

"_Hope so. A guy like this doesn't disappear from history. People are going to be talking about Voldemort for generations to come - oh, grow up, Lily! You shouldn't be afraid of hearing it!" Shiro tried saying but ended up getting annoyed when Lily shivered at the mentioning of Voldemort's name._

"_Sorry. Everyone's afraid of him. It's only natural I get scared too," Lily defended. Rin started to fuss a little but Lily stroked his back and he settled down. "See? Rin agrees with me."_

_Shiro rolled his eyes. "And now you're a baby whisperer."_

_Lily giggled again. "Quiet you! Now, do you want to know some tricks to raising a child or not?"_

_Shiro smirked. "Only if I can teach you a few exorcism tricks."_

~0~0~0~

Shiro knelt at the obelisk in the center of Godric's Hollow town square. He had lit two incense candles at the base of it. While it might seem odd to most people, the locals knew Shiro's friend, Stephen Swain, was an exorcist and guided him to the obelisk. To Muggles like Shiro and Swain, it was a memorial with the names of those who died in both world wars. To witches and wizards, it was a memorial to Lily and James Potter. It was times like this that Shiro wished he could do magic to properly see the monument. It felt weird not being able to see his friends' memorial and properly pay his respects.

It was Halloween, the anniversary of the Potters' deaths and Voldemort's downfall. Shiro didn't know why, but for some reason, this year, he felt like coming here to pay his respects. Perhaps it was because he finally managed to have a conversation with Harry Potter over the summer and old memories with Lily were coming back to Shiro. Granted, he also got along with James, but Lily was his guide to the wizarding world. Any question Shiro had, Lily gladly answered it. Remus Lupin wasn't much help for some reason (Shiro assumed it was due to his frail health). As for Shiro's relationship with Alastor Moody… the less said about it, the better.

"Never thought I'd find you here."

Shiro turned around and saw a priest standing behind him. He looked to be around Shiro's age. His eyes were a murky brown. His maple-colored hair was starting to grey. This was mostly seen in his sideburns. He wore black robes with a clerical collar and a red and blue True Cross pin on his chest.

"Swain. Long time no see," Shiro greeted Reverend Stephen Swain.

"Is this how you pay your respects to the dead in Japan?" asked Swain.

Shiro looked back at the incense candles. "Yeah. It's typically a Buddhist thing, but…"

"They can take you out of Japan, but they can't take Japan out of you," Swain finished. "I get it. It's a cultural thing, right?"

Shiro chuckled mirthlessly. "Something like that. I just wanted to drop by and say hello. The last time I saw them was at their kid's christening," he said solemnly. "I'm such a jackass. I should have come here more often."

Swain shrugged. "Being a single parent and a high ranking exorcist does make you lose track of time," he stated. "I'm sure Lily understands."

Shiro was silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "I met her son over the summer."

Swain's eyes widened. "You met Harry Potter? Truly?"

Shiro nodded. "Yes, I did. Pretty skinny and small for his age. Spitting image of his old man minus the eyes. He's got Lily's eyes."

"Is that why you're here?"

Shiro sighed. "I guess. Seeing the kid and interacting with him… brought old memories to life. Knowing he and my boys are now good friends I think will put her spirit to rest. It's what she wanted the moment she laid eyes on the twins."

Swain chuckled. "I never got to know her as well as you did, but I think you're right. The fact that her son and your sons are good friends should put her soul at ease," he said. He patted Shiro's shoulder. "How about we head to the pub and share a pint over it?"

~0~0~0~

Rin couldn't be happier to leave Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party. It was the gloomiest party he'd ever been in. The music sounded like nails to a chalkboard and the food was moldy and inedible. The guests were gloomy (as to be expected for a party celebrating someone's death). Peeves didn't make things better when he made the ghost of the second floor bathroom cry.

The four Gryffindors, plus Kuro (who hadn't stopped following the kids since Harry's detention) suddenly wished that they'd taken a page from Yukio's book and just went to the Halloween feast (Yukio had promised his Ravenclaw friends he'd go with them).

"The next time you guys invite me to a ghost's deathday party, remind me to say no," said Rin.

"No need to tell us twice," said Ron. "Let's get to the feast. The pudding might not be finished yet."

Everyone agreed as they headed towards the stairs to the entrance hall. Harry and Kuro suddenly stopped. Rin, Ron, and Hermione also stopped.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Kuro's back arched, his tails poofed up like a squirrel's, and started hissing again.

This alarmed Rin as he looked at his cat. "Kuro? What's wrong, buddy?" he asked.

"What's going on?" asked Ron.

"It's that voice again - shut up a minute -" Harry shushed.

The quartet stood still for a few seconds before Kuro and Harry started running upstairs. "This way!" Harry shouted, Kuro hot on his heels.

"Hey, wait up!" Rin called out as he, Ron, and Hermione ran after them. They continued running past the Great Hall where the Halloween feast was still going on strong, up the marble staircase to the first floor.

"Harry, what're we -" Hermione started.

"Shhh!" he shushed again. He continued running through the halls and up the stairs to the second floor. "It's going to kill someone!" he suddenly shouted. Kuro let out a warning growl at whatever he was hearing.

"Kill?!" Ron repeated in disbelief. "What's going on, Harry? We can't hear anything!"

Hermione gave a sudden gasp and pointed at something down the corridor. "_Look_!"

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They slowly approached, squinting into the darkness. Kuro sniffed the air and suddenly became very docile and scared. He retreated behind Rin. When they finally approached the wall, they saw foot-high words shimmered in the light cast by the flaming torches:

_THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAVE BEEN OPENED._

_ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE._

"It's written in blood," Hermione noted, gulping nervously.

"What's that thing - hanging underneath?" asked Ron, pointing to something dangling from a torch.

Rin took a hesitant step forward and squinted his eyes. His heart dropped to his stomach when he realized what it was and leapt backward with a splash. '_Splash?'_

"It's Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris," he whimpered. The cat was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring.

It felt like several hours when in actuality, it was only a few minutes when Ron said, "Let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we try to help -" Harry began awkwardly.

"Trust me," said Ron. "We don't want to be found here."

"Too late," Rin squeaked. His friends and cat turned and were greeted by the sight of loud, happily chatting well-fed people walking up the stairs back to their common rooms after the feast. The chatter, bustle, and laughter all died down when they saw the message and the cat dangling from the torch bracket. The quartet, plus cat, stood alone in the middle of the corridor as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the gruesome sight.

"'Enemies of the heir, beware;' you'll be next Mudbloods," Draco Malfoy shouted as he pushed himself forward to the front of the crowd, grinning at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat. Harry and Ron had to grab the back of Rin's robe to keep him from beating Malfoy to a pulp.

"Not here, Rin!" Hermione hissed.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" the unmistakable voice of Filch asked as he shouldered his way through the crowd. The quartet paled. They knew what was coming next. The moment Filch saw Mrs. Norris, he fell back, clutching his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?!" he shrieked. His eyes then laid on Harry. "_You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll_ -"

"_Argus_!" Professor Dumbledore's voice suddenly called out. He had arrived at the scene, along with several members of the faculty. He saw what was written on the wall. "Everyone! Return to your dormitories immediately!" Everyone turned to leave but Dumbledore wasn't finished. "Everyone, except you four," he finished as he pointed to the four Gryffindors.

Rin managed to find Yukio in the crowd. He looked as confused as the rest of the student body. 'Tell you later,' Rin mouthed to his twin. He nodded and followed his fellow Ravenclaws back to the dorms.

* * *

**There's another reason updates are going to slow down. I was recently laid off, so I'm kind of depressed (the oh-woe-is-me kind of depression). Take one guess as to why I was laid off.**

**You guys finally have a name for the exorcist/wizard who was involved in the situation in Wales. He's completely OC. I didn't know any villionous exorcists who hailed from the UK (Saburota Todo was from the Japan branch of the True Cross, so I had to rule him out). I'm hoping that's okay with you guys.**

**Studies show that reviewing this story will prevent you from getting COVID-19. Just kidding! Review!**


	12. The Legend

**Quarantine sucks! The sooner the COVID-19 pandemic ends, the better. **

**I've been doing some home improvement projects on my condo, which is why uploads have been slow lately. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**The Legend**

The quartet (plus cat) sat in Lockhart's office as Dumbledore examined Mrs. Norris on Lockhart's desk. Several teachers were also present watching the headmaster poke and prod the cat with both his fingers and his wand. Professor McGonagall was bent over Dumbledore's shoulder while he did the examination. Snape lurked in the shadows wearing the weirdest expression on his face, as if he was trying not to smile. Lockhart, on the other hand, was making several suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her - probably the Transmorgrifian Torture - I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her…" he ranted.

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair near the desk. Shura, who was sitting next to the caregiver with her arm over his shoulders, glared at Lockhart.

"Cueball! Do everyone a favor and shut the hell up!" she barked. McGonagall let out a small chuckle and Snape found it harder not to smile. Dumbledore ignored her and muttered some strange words and incantations as he continued to poke Mrs. Norris with his wand.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou," said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story is in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townspeople with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once…"

"Cueball, I'm warning you…" Shura growled.

Dumbledore straightened up. "She's not dead, Argus," he stated.

Shura and Lockhart stopped talking and looked at the headmaster.

"Not dead?" Filch choked, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all… stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," Dumbledore explained ("Ah! I thought so!" said Lockhart). "Professor Kirigakure, would you please examine Mrs. Norris? Perhaps a demon is responsible for this."

Shura patted Filch on the shoulder before standing up to do her examination. "You got it, Boss," she answered. Several times she did her own poking and prodding before muttering incantations that Harry assumed were prayers and passages from sacred scriptures in different languages. Eventually she gave up. "Sorry, Boss, Argus. I've tried everything I can think of that could fix this. Nothing's working. Whatever Petrified Mrs. Norris was no demon."

"Ask him!" Filch shrieked as he pointed at Harry.

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore said firmly. "It would take Dark magic of the most advanced -"

"He did it!" Filch insisted. "You saw what he wrote on the wall!"

Shura turned in Filch's direction. "Argus, we didn't catch Potter in the act. His hands are clean. He didn't do this." Harry showed everyone his hands palms side up as proof.

"But he knows that I'm a - I'm a -" Filch's face grimaced. "He knows I'm a Squib!" he finished.

"He's a what now?" Rin spoke up in confusion.

"I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry insisted loudly. Everyone, including the Lockharts in the portraits, looked in his direction. "And I don't even know what a Squib is."

Rin leaned in Ron's direction. "What's Filch talking about? Did he just say he's a _squid_?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"No," said Ron. "A _Squib_ is someone who's born into a magical family but doesn't have any magical talent." Rin could only nod in understanding. No wonder Filch was always so grouchy.

"If I may speak, Headmaster," Snape said coming forward. Harry's stomach lurched in foreboding. Whatever Snape wanted to say couldn't be good. "Potter and his friends may have been simply at the wrong place at the wrong time." His mouth morphed into a sneer, as if he doubted what he was saying was true. "But we do have suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor in the first place? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

The children launched into an explanation about the deathday party. "...there were hundreds of ghosts," said Harry.

"Ask Nearly Headless Nick," Rin insisted. "He'll vouch for us."

"But why not join the feast afterward?" asked Snape, his eyes glittering in the candlelight. It was quite clear he enjoyed watching them squirm. "Why go up to the corridor?"

Ron and Hermione looked to Harry for answers. "Because… because…" Harry started.

"I had to take my cat to Gryffindor Tower!" Rin blurted out. Everyone looked in the blue-haired boy's direction.

"Mrow?" Kuro meowed in confusion.

"I didn't think animals besides owls were allowed in the Great Hall," Rin explained, unable to stop himself. "So, I told my friends that I should take Kuro to Gryffindor Tower before going to the feast."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione latched onto Rin's story and nodded earnestly. Dumbledore gave Rin a searching look. His twinkling blue-eyed gaze made Rin feel like he was being X-rayed, making shivers go up and down his spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Kuro's fur was standing on end as well.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly.

"My cat has been Petrified!" shrieked Filch. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore assured him. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they've reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart volunteered. "I must have made it a hundred times. I could make a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -"

"Excuse me," Snape said icily, "but I believe I am the Potions Master at this school."

Shura smirked at Lockhart. "He's got ya there, Cueball." She then turned her attention to Filch. "C'mon, Argus. Let's go to Hogsmeade for a drink to calm your nerves. C'mon." she said gently. Filch started to break down as Shura led him out of the room.

"You may go," Dumbledore told the quartet.

They left as quickly as they could without really running. They entered the first classroom they could find and closed the door behind them.

"Do you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?" asked Harry.

"No," Ron answered without hesitation. "Hearing voices is never a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

"Do you want them to think you're crazy?" Rin added.

"You lot do believe me, don't you?" asked Harry.

"Of course we do," Ron assured. Rin nodded in agreement.

Hermione then spoke up, "You have to admit though that it is weird that only you and Kuro can only hear this voice."

"I know it's weird," Harry agreed as he stroked Kuro who was sitting on a desk. "This whole thing is weird. What was that writing on the wall about? 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened?' What's that supposed to mean?"

~0~0~0~

Amaimon was bored, plain and simple. While he had never spent much time in Assiah beforehand, after encountering the spawn of Satan and the lightning scarred boy last year, he was rather intrigued with both Japan (thanks to Mephisto's position at True Cross Academy) and the wizarding world's cultures. Amaimon wanted to explore the big castle where his brother's friend Dumbledore lived but the barrier surrounding it and the grounds blocked him from entering. He had to make do with the Forbidden Forest.

He sucked on his acid pop while sitting in a tree. He didn't mind that it burned a hole in his tongue (it always healed). Amaimon suddenly heard scurrying down below. He looked down and saw a spider the size of a small dog running past the tree. Curious (and bored), Amaimon jumped off his perch and landed rather hard on the spider.

"You seem to be in a hurry," he said dully. "I'm bored. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Get off me!" the spider squeaked. "Must get away! _Must get away!_"

"So you're scared," Amaimon concluded. "Suddenly I'm not so bored. Why are you running away?"

"It's awake! _It's awake! MUST GET AWAY!_" the spider shrieked.

"What is 'it?'"

"Must not speak of it! Will not speak of it!"

"Now you're boring me again. I think I'll go look for that weird self-driving car I saw a month ago," said Amaimon. He stepped off the spider and kicked it into a nearby tree, knocking it out. He then wandered off further into the forest.

~0~0~0~

For the next few days the school could only talk about the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch made sure no one forgot by pacing in front of the place where she was attacked, as though he thought the attacker would return to the scene of the crime. He tried putting several unsuspecting students in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy." Luckily Shura managed to get them out of trouble.

Ginny Weasley was especially disturbed by the attack. According to Ron, she was a cat lover. Rin even let Kuro sleep in the girls' dormitory for a few nights to cheer her up (much to Kuro's chagrin, as he still wanted to sleep in the boys' dormitory to protect Rin).

It wasn't until Demonology one day when things really started to come to light.

"Okay," Shura started, "Now that we're done with Beelzebub, we'll move on to…" Hermoine suddenly shot her hand up. "Granger? We haven't even started the unit yet. Don't tell me you've already read the material."

"Actually, professor, I was wondering what you knew about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said. Suddenly everyone's attention was on their teacher, even Malfoy and his goons.

Shura sighed. "Okay, I recently got a crash course on the subject. Let me see… Let me recall what Minerva and the others told me… Oh, yeah! Now I remember!" she exclaimed as she walked up and down the aisles of desks in the classroom. "Well, you guys obviously remember the four founders of this school, right? Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. This castle was built about a thousand years ago away from prying Muggle eyes. You know, to avoid witch hunts and all that?

"For several years, the four founders worked well together, like peaches and cream, taking in kids with magical abilities and teaching them how to use them. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Lots of disagreements sprang up from time to time, mainly between Gryffindor and Slytherin, who wanted to be more… selective about which students should be admitted into Hogwarts. He wanted the school to be a magic family only school."

"In other words, no Mudbloods allowed," Malfoy concluded.

Shura hit Malfoy upside the head. "Five points from Slytherin for foul language, Ferret."

Malfoy scowled at Shura. "I'm only stating facts, you Squib."

Several students gasped at this revelation. Shura responded by stabbing her sword into Malfoy's desk, centimeters from his nose. "Detention, Ferret, plus another five points from Slytherin. Got any other foul words to spew out or are you done? Because I highly doubt you want your house to lose more points because of your prejudiced views." Malfoy fearfully shook his head no. "Good. Now shut up." She removed her sword and rested it on her shoulder.

"Now where was I? Oh, yeah! Gryffindor and the others didn't take kindly to Slytherin's attitude towards Muggleborns. He didn't think kids with Muggle parents were trustworthy. After a while, Gryffindor and Slytherin had a huge argument and Slytherin left the school," Shura continued. "According to legend, before Slytherin left the school he built a secret chamber somewhere in the castle the other founders knew nothing about. He sealed it so that no one could open it until his own true heir came to the school. Only the Heir of Slytherin could open the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of those who are unworthy to study magic."

The entire room was silent when Shura finished her story. There was unease in the air. This was a lot to take in.

Dean Thomas raised his hand. "Is the 'horror within' a demon?" he inquired.

Shura shrugged. "Hell if I know," she said resignedly. "I doubt it though. The wizarding world didn't know about demons until recently. Not to mention going to an exorcist to learn how to summon a demon would have been too big of a gamble on Slytherin's part. Remember, witch hunts were all the rage back then. One wrong word and he would have been either hanged or burned at the steak.

"But don't take the tale so seriously. The school has been searched several times over the years. No such chamber has been found. If the monster within the chamber was a demon, the barrier would have driven it out."

Hermione's hand shot up in the air again. "Professor, what exactly do you mean 'the horror within?'"

"Some sort of monster that only the Heir of Slytherin can control," Shura answered. "No idea what the monster is. It's not a demon, that much I can tell you."

~0~0~0~

Mephisto Pheles was slurping up some ramen noodles for his evening dinner when his younger brother entered his office. He was covered in dirt, leaves, and other flora native to a typical forest. Mephisto frowned at his brother's disheveled appearance.

"Amaimon, I thought I told you to clean yourself up before coming into my office," he scolded his brother.

Amaimon tilted his head to the side, the ever-present blank look on his face. "I was playing in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest. I want to play with the son of Satan but I can't."

Mephisto's frown deepened. "I thought I told you to stay away from him until I said so," he reprimanded.

"Oh don't worry. I still can't get past the barrier," Amaimon assured him. "In fact, while I was playing in the forest, I came across something interesting."

Mephisto quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"A strange spider was scurrying through the forest and said that something weird was going on at the school," Amaimon answered.

"'Something weird?'"

"Not sure what it is. Only that it had the spider freaked out," Amaimon explained. "Wasn't Beelzebub's kin, I know that much."

Mephisto sat back in his chair and gripped his chin in thought. What could have a creature like a spider so freaked out?

"Tell me, Amaimon, what made this spider so 'weird?'" he inquired.

Amaimon tilted his head to the other side. "It talked for starters. It said something was awake in the castle. Or at least, I'm assuming it was the castle," he recalled. "It also said that he had to 'get away.'"

"Get away from what?" asked Mephisto.

Amaimon shrugged. "It didn't say. Seemed pretty scared though. Whatever is in the castle has spiders scared silly. I wonder if our little brother can handle it."

Mephisto sighed exasperatedly. "Do I need to repeat myself? Stay away from the spawn of Satan until I say otherwise!" he exclaimed.

"I know," said Amaimon, "but I can't help but wonder how our little brother and his friends handle this. Is it gonna be anything like last year?"

Mephisto paused before smiling grimly. "Well as long he's friends with Harry Potter, then the possibilities are endless."

* * *

**How did you like Shura's version of the Legend of the Chamber of Secrets? I tried retelling it how she'd tell it. What do you think?**

**Amaimon is back! He'll be helping out the gang again when it's time for them to go into the Forbidden Forest. **

**Keep reviewing, folks! **


	13. Fear

**Not my best work in the slightest. I've been busy with home improvement projects.**

**Keep reviewing, folks. We finally meet the rest of the Exwires in this chapters.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Fear**

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old looney," Ron said to his friends as they left Demonology (Yukio joined up with them after his house finished History of Magic). "But I never knew he started all this pureblood stuff."

"Understandable given the circumstances at the time," said Yukio.

Ron looked at the Ravenclaw incredulously. "Are you defending him?"

Yukio rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he answered.

"I think I get what you're saying," said Hermione. "You have to remember that for centuries people, whether they were Muggles or wizards, were burned at the stake for witchcraft. It's only natural that Salazar Slytherin would be wary of who would be enrolled."

"They were burned at the stake in Europe," said Yukio. "Contrary to popular belief, people were hanged for witchcraft in America, not burned."

"Doesn't excuse Slytherin's attitude towards Muggleborns," Ron grumbled.

Harry remained silent throughout the conversation. Rin noticed that a lot of students either went silent or moved out of the group's way as they walked through the corridor. It was quite clear to them that the student body believed that they had something to do with what happened to Mrs. Norris.

"Do you guys think there's really a Chamber of Secrets?" Rin asked Hermoine.

Hermione frowned. "I don't know," she answered. "Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be… well… human."

"Or demon," Harry added.

Voices were suddenly heard up ahead where the writing on the wall was located.

"You guys weren't in Demonology today," one voice said nervously.

"We had the same lesson in History of Magic, Shima," another voice said. "A topic like blood purity doesn't really come up in conversations."

"As long as you don't say anything about your heritage, no one in Slytherin will know," a third voice added.

The group hurried ahead and found three students standing in front of the writing on the wall. The first student Harry recognized was Slytherin student Renzo Shima from Demonology. The two other students, Harry noticed, were also Japanese. One was a Ravenclaw student with dark brown hair and stern expression. The other was a short Hufflepuff student with a buzzcut and wore large glasses in front of his small eyes.

Harry noticed looks of recognition on Yukio and Hermione's faces. The stern-faced Ravenclaw then scowled at the group.

"Granger," he greeted Hermione.

Hermione sniffed. "Suguro," she greeted back stiffly.

Harry looked back and forth between the two. "You two know each other?" he inquired.

"Ryuji Suguro," the stern-faced Ravenclaw introduced himself. "I'm a second-year like you." His gaze landed on Yukio. "These guys must be your Gryffindor friends I hear you talking about with the others. Didn't know Granger was among them."

Hermione scowled in response. Yukio stepped in front of her.

"I'm sure you would have known about her if you weren't always away from Ravenclaw Tower," Yukio remarked.

Suguro scowled and took a step towards the mole-faced boy. "What was that? You wanna repeat that?" he challenged.

Rin stepped in front of his brother and glared daggers at Suguro. "Take one more step near my brother and the Tooth Fairy is going to make you rich after I knock your teeth out," he threatened.

Shima and the Hufflepuff boy grabbed each of Suguro's arms.

"Calm down, Bon," said Shima.

"If you start a fight here, the teachers are going to hear and we'll all be in trouble," the Hufflepuff reasoned.

Harry turned to Hermione. "How do you know him?" he asked.

"I sometimes see him in the library," Hermione explained. "Renzo Shima and Konekomaru Niwa are always tailing him. I can't tell you how often I've had to race them to get to a book."

"And what does Suguro have against you?" asked Harry.

Hermione sighed. "He's jealous that he scored the second highest marks in our year. And he makes sure I don't forget it."

Ron decided to step in before things got heated. "So what are you lot doing here?" he inquired.

Konekomaru turned towards the group. "Shima wanted to look at the writing because -"

Shima jumped onto Konekomaru, covering his mouth with his hand. "Because we wanted to see if we could figure out who attacked Filch's cat, that's what," he finished hurriedly.

Harry raised an eyebrow. What was Shima hiding that he didn't want Harry and his friends to know about?

Yukio smiled. "What a coincidence, so are we," he said. The others gawked at him. '_Say what?! Did he forget that there's a Slytherin in our midst?'_

Suguro scowled at them. "You already solved the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone last year. Gonna solve this mystery too?"

Rin scowled back. "That's none of your business! We have our own reasons for checking this out."

"Perhaps we could all look into this," Harry stepped in. The last thing he wanted was a huge argument that could attract a teacher's attention. "The more eyes, the better."

Both groups scowled at each other before simultaneously exclaiming, "FINE!"

They all split up and looked the area up and down.

"Scorch marks!" Harry discovered. "Here and here!"

"Here too!" Rin exclaimed.

Shima suddenly started screaming like a little girl and backed up to the other side of the corridor. Ron looked at what he was so afraid of and started to pale. He soon joined Shima's side.

"Shima! Weasley!" Suguro cried out. "What's wrong?"

Both boys pointed to the wall. Everyone turned and saw about twelve spiders scurrying up a wall, all fighting to get through a crack.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Hermione asked in wonder.

"No," Konekomaru answered. "Have you guys?"

"Nope!" the boys answered, except Shima and Ron. Harry turned and saw the two of them fighting the urge to run.

"What's up with you two?" asked Harry.

"I. Don't. Like. Spiders," Ron said tensely.

"I hate all bugs!" Shima cried. "Six legs, eight legs, or a hundred… I don't care! I hate bugs!"

"I never knew that, Ron," said Hermione. "You've used them in Potions loads of times."

"I don't mind them dead," Ron said fiercely. "I just don't like the way they move."

"Shima's been afraid of bugs for as long as we can remember," said Konekomaru.

Shima shivered. "All those eyes, their feelers, their legs… so many legs…"

Hermione giggled.

"It's not funny!" Ron argued.

Shima nodded. "Yeah! Arachnaphobia is nothing to laugh at!"

The boys blinked at the two.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say Ron's found an ally in his fear," Yukio noted.

"And with a Slytherin of all people," Harry noted.

Hermione continued holding in her laughter. Suguro scowled at her.

"Let's go guys," he said. "They obviously can't take this seriously."

Shima let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, Bon! The sooner we're away from those creepy crawlies, the better."

The group watched the trio leave the scene. Rin then turned to Ron. "What's with you and spiders?"

Ron stiffened. "If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a great filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick…" Rin snorted in an effort to hide his laughter. "You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and…" He shuddered.

At this point, both Rin and Hermione were having difficulty keeping in their laughter. In an effort to save his friend's dignity, Harry decided to change the subject. "Remember all that water on the floor? Where did it come from? Someone's mopped it up."

"Filch must have done that," said Yukio.

Ron followed where the water came from until it led to a door. He grabbed the doorknob but suddenly let go as if it was on fire.

"What's up?" asked Rin.

"Can't go in there," Ron answered. "That's a girls' bathroom."

"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there," said Hermione as she stood up and walked over to him. "That's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Come on, let's have a look." Ignoring the "Out of Order" sign, she opened the door and went in.

Yukio quirked an eyebrow. "'Moaning Myrtle'?"

"She's the crying ghost of a girl who haunts this bathroom," Rin explained.

"Careful what you say to her," warned Harry. "She might take it the wrong way and start crying."

"Learned that the hard way at Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party, we did," Ron added.

Rin looked around to make sure no one was looking before entering the bathroom. Yukio, Harry, and Ron followed.

~0~0~0~

Rin focused on his makeshift targets and started casting spells, but the results were all the same: nothing but blue flames. His arm dropped to his side; he couldn't focus anyway. His mind kept going back to what happened in the girls' bathroom. According to Moaning Myrtle, she was too distraught over how Peeves treated her at Nick's deathday party to notice anything.

"_Fracto Strata!_" Rin recited, aiming his wand at another target. Instead of an orange light, a small, blue fireball erupted from the tip of his wand and fired at the target. Rin stamped his foot in frustration. "Dammit! Why is this happening again?"

"Having trouble again, Rin?"

Rin turned and saw Professor Dumbledore standing right behind him.

Rin turned bright red. "Yessir," he grumbled. "I'm trying to remember everything you taught me, but I've forgotten most of it. Plus, I can't stop thinking about this whole Chamber of Secrets thing. From what I heard, aren't a lot of Muggleborn students in danger?"

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence Rin. "We can resume your training as soon as possible," he assured the boy. "As for the Chamber of Secrets, I cannot do much until I have evidence that points to the culprit."

This did not assure Rin at all. "Do you have any idea who could have been behind it?" he asked.

Dumbledore shook his head no. "I'm afraid not, Rin."

Rin frowned in fear. "There's something else that's bugging me," he said looking directly into Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. "I was told that the Heir of Slytherin is supposed to target Muggleborns. One of my friends is Muggleborn, but…"

Dumbledore lifted his eyebrows. "But what, Rin?" he inquired.

"What about me and Yukio?" asked Rin. "Hermione is Muggleborn, Ron and Neville are pureblood, and Seamus, and Harry is half-blood. I don't know what Dean is. And I don't know what me and Yukio are. We never knew our real parents. Dad won't say anything about Mom."

Dumbledore stroked his beard, deep in thought. He then smiled and placed a hand on Rin's head. "I can tell you this much, Rin, that you and your brother are half-bloods." Rin was about to say something but Dumbledore raised his hand again to stop him. "Alas, that is as much as I can say. To tell you more would only devastate you and I ask that you not look further into it."

Rin could tell that the headmaster was not kidding when he said that. He couldn't explain it, but whenever Professor Dumbledore spoke like that, Rin couldn't help but take him at his word and do what he said. Not even Shiro could pull something like off.

* * *

**Like I said, not my best work. How did you like how Harry and the others handled the Exwires. They won't be interacting much in this story but if you want me to write the rest of the series, I think it can be arranged.**

**Rejoice! For I have gotten my job back! I'm so happy!**

**Please, please, _PLEASE _review! More reviews, equal more chapters. **


	14. Who is He?

***Whew!* This was NOT easy to write! I'm more interested in the Dueling Club part of the story at this point. I have ideas for it, I just need to straighten them out in my head before writing them. Plus, COVID-19 is really putting a damper on my creativity. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Who is He?**

Rin snickered as they made their way towards the library. "I can't believe he fell for it!" he laughed.

Harry made a noise that sounded like either a snort or a scoff. "He didn't even notice what book we wanted," he noticed.

The book the group needed to make the Polyjuice Potion was located in the Restricted Section of the library. In order to get in, an underage student had to have a signed permission slip from a teacher. And Lockhart was the only teacher dense enough to sign one, no questions asked.

"That's because he's a brainless git," said Ron. "But who cares? We've got what we needed -"

"He is not a brainless git," Hermione said shrilly.

"Just because he said you were the best student of the year -"

"Teacher's pet," Rin snickered.

Hermione turned bright red. "Shut up, both of you!" she hissed as they entered the library.

The librarian, Madam Pince, read the title of the book on the permission slip. She seemed pretty skeptical about the group's motives. Hermione, refusing to relinquish the permission slip, didn't help matters.

"I was wondering if I could keep it," she pleaded.

Harry and Rin facepalmed as Ron wrenched the slip from Hermione's hand and into Madam Pince's. "Oh, come on! We'll get you another autograph. Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough," he exclaimed.

~0~0~0~

Yukio had so many doubts about his friends' plan to infiltrate the Slytherin common room to get information out of Malfoy. For one thing, making the Polyjuice Potion was very advanced potion-making. He doubted even Rin could pull off brewing it correctly.

"A Knut for your thoughts?" an airy voice asked. Yukio turned from his homework in the Ravenclaw common room and saw Luna Lovegood (now known as "Loony Lovegood" to his fellow Ravenclaws) looking over his shoulder.

Yukio put his homework away before answering her. "Just thinking about who could be behind the whole Chamber of Secrets thing."

"Curious thing, isn't it? Why would the Heir of Slytherin attack a cat?" asked Luna.

"Why would the Heir of Slytherin attack anybody?" Yukio countered.

"Fair point. Makes me wonder why the Heir has a thing against Muggleborns and Squibs," said Luna.

Yukio looked at her funny. "Didn't any of the teachers tell you about the Chamber of Secrets? Salazar Slytherin didn't trust Muggleborns," he recalled.

"So why attack a Squib's cat?"

"I don't know. To send a message?"

"The Heir has a very strange view of the wizarding world, doesn't he?" Luna asked.

Yukio sighed. "Yes, he does, whoever he is."

~0~0~0~

Rin wandered past the greenhouses, trying desperately to identify which greenhouse the fluxweed needed for the Polyjuice Potion would be located. After talking it over with Yukio, the twins agreed to back out of the operation since Hermione said the potion would be ready by Christmastime and therefore their birthdays. However, Rin did agree to help gather ingredients for said potion (as long as he didn't take part in stealing from Snape's storeroom).

"Rin?"

Rin turned around and saw Shiemi Moriyama standing behind him with a curious look on her face. His face immediately turned pink.

"Sh-Shi-Shiemi! What are you doing here?" he asked shakily.

"I was going to water the plants in the greenhouse today for Professor Sprout before the Quidditch game," she explained. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

Rin's face went from pink to red. "I… I'm looking for a specific plant," he said vaguely. He didn't want to lie to her, but perhaps he could spare her the details of why he needed this particular plant. "It's for a potion my friends are working on. Do you know where I can find fluxweed?"

Shiemi brightened. "Oh! I know exactly where it is! Follow me."

The two of them left the greenhouse they were currently in and made their way outside of Greenhouse Six. Rin blanched at their location.

"_That's_ where it is?" he asked incredulously.

Shiemi looked at him funny. "Yes. Professor Sprout teaches sixth year students there. I'm only allowed in there if she's with me."

Rin bit back a curse. Well, at least he knew its location. Now all he had to do was wait for the full moon to pick it.

"I'll let Hermione know. She's the one who needs it."

"What kind of potion is she working on?" Shiemi asked.

Rin kicked a pebble while avoiding her gaze. "I'd rather not say. It's kind of top secret." Shiemi stared at the ground and nodded silently. "Anyway, enough about me. Now that I know where to get fluxweed, we can go to the Quidditch game! Wanna sit with us?"

Shiemi immediately became flustered. "M-M-Me? I… I don't know. I mean, my house's team isn't even playing. Is it wrong for me to root for another house that isn't mine?"

"No way!" Rin responded. "If you're rooting for either Slytherin or Gryffindor, the teams playing today, then you're not turning your back on Hufflepuff house. Besides, you can see Hermione again and meet Ron. I'm sure they won't mind if you join them."

"You… you really think they won't mind if I joined?" Shiemi asked.

Rin smiled. "Absolutely!"

~0~0~0~

The two made their way to the Quidditch pitch just as the players were walking onto the field. It took them a while but they managed to find Ron and Hermione sitting in the stands with the other Gryffindors and Hagrid.

"Hey guys!" Rin greeted.

"Hey Rin!" his fellow Gryffindors greeted back.

"How ya doin' Rin?" Hagrid greeted. "Shiemi, nice to see yeh again."

"He-Hello, Mr. Hagrid," she greeted nervously with a bow.

Seamus chortled. "Brought a date, eh, Rin?" he teased.

Rin turned as red as the Gryffindor team's robes. "Sh-Shut up, Seamus! She's just a friend!" he defended.

Dean chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that, Rin."

Rin scowled. "Watch it, Dean!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You can sit with me, Shiemi. There's no need for these _boys_ to embarrass you."

Rin's jaw dropped at such a notion. He'd never deliberately embarrass Shiemi! As she sat down next to Hermione, both teams took off into the sky.

"Which one's Harry?" asked Shiemi.

Hermione looked around before answering. "I see him! The one highest in the sky!"

"And Malfoy's right behind him," Rin added. As soon as he said that, a Bludger flew directly to Harry, who barely dodged it.

"That was a close one," Ron remarked.

"Is it true that the entire Slytherin team has the same broomstick?" Shiemi asked Hermione who nodded in confirmation.

"It is. Malfoy bought his way onto the team by having his father buy every team member a Nimbus Two Thousand and One."

Shiemi blinked. "Isn't that bribery?"

Ron snorted. "You're not the only one who thinks so," he said.

"Just a tick," Hagrid interrupted. "What's goin' on with that Bludger? It keeps followin' Harry."

Everyone looked up and, sure enough, one of the Bludgers was trailing Harry all over the field.

"Hey Ron? Is it normal for Bludgers to chase after one player in particular?" asked Rin.

Ron shook his head. "No, it is not! What's going on with that Bludger?"

Dean gritted his teeth. "It won't leave Harry alone! What's going on?"

Despite Fred and George's best efforts, this particular Bludger refused to leave Harry alone. Everyone in the stands winced when it collided with Harry's arm, breaking it. Remarkably, he was still on his broomstick. He even managed to catch the Snitch (which was actually hovering behind Malfoy at one point but he was too busy taunting Harry to notice) before crash-landing onto the ground.

The Bludger still persisted. It kept bouncing up and down on the ground, trying to land on Harry, who had to roll over a few times to avoid getting his head smashed in. All of his friends rushed onto the pitch to his aid. Rin didn't even stop to watch Flint chastise Malfoy for losing the game. The Bludger came down towards Harry again.

Time seemed to slow down for Rin. He saw George Weasley landing and quickly approaching the crowd. Now wasn't the time to think, now was the time for action!

Rin got out his wand and took aim. "George! Heads up!" he cried. He aimed his wand at the descending Bludger. "_Flipendo!_"

A burst of blue light shot out of Rin's wand. Bullseye! The Bludger (which was now marked with a scorch mark) was knocked off course and shot straight into George who barreled over backwards. Rin watched Fred join George into wrestling the Bludger into a box. A small flash of light caught Rin's attention. He frowned when he saw that Colin Creevey was taking pictures of Harry and his broken arm.

He released an irritated sigh as shoved his way through the crowd and grabbed Colin by the back of his shirt. "Leave him alone, Shutterbug," he said.

"No need, Mr. Okumura," said Professor Lockhart who was kneeling next to Harry. "This is a perfect opportunity to show Harry a simple charm I've used countless times for situations like this."

"Why can't I go to the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked through gritted teeth.

Lockhart wasn't listening. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.

"No - don't -" Harry pleaded weakly.

Lockhart twirled his wand and then pointed it at Harry's arm. At first nothing happened but then it looked like his arm was flattening like an inflatable pool toy. Yukio's jaw dropped in alarm at the sight. Colin then started clicking away with his camera (which was quickly stopped when Rin tugged him away from the crowd).

"Wh-What did you do?" Yukio asked exasperatedly.

Shiemi gasped. "His… his… arm is… flat…" she stuttered in horror.

Harry whipped his head around to look at his arm and saw that it was indeed flat.

"Ah," said Lockhart, "yes. Well, that does happen sometimes. But the point is that the arm is no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind."

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed.

"Broken?! There're no bones left!" Hagrid exclaimed.

Rin leaned towards Hermione. "Still think he's a great wizard?" he asked snarkily. Hermione only responded by turning her head away and sniffed.

~0~0~0~

After being thrown out of the Hospital Wing by Madam Pomfrey (poor Harry had to spend the night there so his bones can regrow thanks to a potion called Skele-Gro), Hermione decided to go to the library to get some homework done by herself. Rin said that Professor Dumbledore needed to speak with him about something. Ron fled somewhere at the mention of homework. And Yukio went to dinner early with his Ravenclaw friends.

As much as she enjoyed doing homework and studying with her friends, Hermione didn't mind doing some of it by herself from time to time. Other than Yukio, the boys always seemed to try to find ways _not_ to study. Honestly, it felt like she was more their babysitter than a study buddy sometimes.

She looked through the many aisles of books, searching for a book on the latest goblin rebellion the ghostly Professor Binns lectured the class about.

"Granger."

Hermione turned and saw the stern face of Ryuji Suguro approach her by himself. No sign of Shima or Konekomaru anywhere.

Hermione released an irritated sigh before answering him. "What do you want, Suguro? I'm not in the mood for that sour attitude that always seems to accompany your face," she snapped.

Suguro clenched his teeth before taking a deep breath and spoke, "I wanna talk to you about what happened at the Quidditch game today."

Hermione gave him an odd look. "You mean when a rogue Bludger broke Harry's arm? Yes, I saw it just like everyone else," she said like she was addressing a toddler.

"What did Rin Okumura do to the Bludger?" Suguro suddenly asked.

Hermione's jaw dropped to the ground. "Are you implying that Rin was responsible for what happened?! How dare you?" she defended.

Suguro growled. "Not during the game, after! The Bludger was bouncing up and down trying to hit Potter then Okumura whipped out his wand and sent a Knockback Jinx into it and sent it towards one of the Weasley twins," he explained.

"So?" said Hermione. "The Knockback Jinx is Rin's favorite spell. What of it?"

"I saw through my binoculars a burn mark that covered half that Bludger when Okumura sent it towards the twins. The Knockback Jinx doesn't leave burn marks on its targets."

Hermione opened her mouth then closed it. She didn't have an explanation about what happened. Rin had had a penchant for setting things on fire since last year. He as well as the rest of the group were clueless about why that was (although Yukio might have an idea but he refused to say anything). Hermione tried looking into it but came up empty.

All she knew was that the flames, while beautiful yet somewhat frightening, did more good than harm from what she witnessed. True, they kept burning whatever Rin aimed his wand at, but they had been more helpful in the long run. Hermione would never forget how Rin unwittingly summoned them for the first time last year to save her life. Had it not been for them, she probably wouldn't be here. Harry told her and Ron that Rin made good use of the flames again to intimidate a mysterious figure (who turned out to be the now late Professor Quirrel) in the Forbidden Forest. And of course, the flames saved everyone from the Devil's Snare last spring.

"I don't know what to tell you," Hermione finally answered. "Why are you asking me?"

"I just wanna know how he did it," Suguro replied. "A simple spell like that isn't supposed to leave a mark."

For some reason, Hermione was getting irritated by all of Suguro's questions. "How about you ask Rin about it instead of me?" She then turned around and left the library, having decided to do her homework in the Gryffindor common room away from Suguro.

~0~0~0~

"Before we begin, Rin, I would like to speak with you about what happened today at the Quidditch game," said Dumbledore.

Rin tilted his head. "What do you mean, Professor?"

"When you used the Knockback Jinx on the Bludger today, I noticed no flames coming out of your wand. Only a scorch mark was seen on the Bludger," the headmaster explained.

"Yeah. And?"

"What was on your mind when you cast the spell?"

Rin thought back to the moment when he cast the spell. The Bludger was beginning to descend towards Harry's head. George Weasley was approaching them. Rin did the only thing that came to mind and that was saving his friend's life. George was a Beater. He'd know how to handle faulty equipment, right? He called out to George and sent the Bludger his way.

"I just wanted to save Harry. The Bludger was gonna crush his head. I just… reacted," Rin tried to explain.

Dumbledore nodded as he stroked his beard. "That was the only thing on your mind?" he inquired.

Rin nodded vehemently. "Yeah! He was already hurt. Can you imagine how much more damage that thing could have done to Harry if someone didn't do anything?"

Dumbledore continued to nod. "I see. Your desire to save someone could be what controls your flames," he hypothesized.

Rin perked up at this. "You're saying that protecting my friends is what controls my flames?"

Dumbledore held up his hand to calm the boy. "It is only a guess at this time. I would like to explore it from this angle. Perhaps this could be what will ultimately control the blue flames."

* * *

**Keep reviewing! ****It'll give you something to do if you're in quarantine. **

**I hope everyone is doing well during these difficult times. I want this stupid pandemic over and done with as much as the next person.**


	15. Hints

**I don't have much to say about this. It's 25% canon, 75% filler. Just make sure to read the author's notes at the end.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Hints**

"Well done, Rin," Dumbledore complimented as he escorted Rin back to Gryffindor Tower. "I believe we are onto something with this approach."

Rin coughed up a black puff of smoke. He was covered from head to toe in soot. "I feel like there should be more to this than all that love and friendship crap. It can't be this easy," he remarked.

Dumbledore chuckled. "It probably is more complicated than it seems. Just keep practicing patience. We will continue your training at a later date."

Kuro trotted behind the two wizards, flicking his ears in all directions, listening for anything that might ambush them. He would have followed Rin to the Quidditch match earlier today but the volume of the crowds was overwhelming, even for a cat sidthe.

A rather unpleasant scent made its way to the cat's nostrils. He recognized that scent. It was the same one from Halloween. It was the foulest stench that ever graced his nostrils. It smelled like the latrines from back in the days before indoor plumbing. There was also another scent mixed in but he couldn't put his paw on it. Whatever it was made his fur stand on end.

"_HIIISSSSSSS!_"

Both Rin and Dumbledore turned towards the hissing cat. His back was arched and his fur was on end. He then dashed off, following the stench.

"Kuro?!" Rin called chasing after the cat. Dumbledore followed after them. They kept chasing after the cat until they stopped at one of the moving staircases. A first-year student was lying on the steps. Rin immediately knew it was Colin Creevey since he was holding a camera in front of his face. A bunch of grapes laid next to him.

"Holy crap!" Rin yelped. "Shutterbug?!"

Dumbledore kneeled over Colin's body and inspected him. "Petrified, just like Mrs. Norris. It appears that our attacker has struck again," he concluded.

"W-Well, what should we do, Professor?" Rin asked shakily.

"I want you to run ahead to the Hospital Wing and inform Madam Pomfrey of what's happened," Dumbledore instructed.

"What about you, sir? I know you're tough, but what if the guy is still on the loose?" Rin asked worriedly.

"I appreciate your concern, Rin, but I am more than capable of handling myself," the headmaster assured him.

Rin nodded and ran ahead, Kuro at his heels. His mind was reeling. He knew that Shutterbug was a pain in the neck, but he didn't think the pest deserved this. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice who was in front of him.

"Oh!"

"Oof!" Rin grunted as he fell on his butt after bumping into someone.

"Mr. Okumura!" Professor McGonagall cried. "What on Earth are you doing out and about after curfew?"

"W-W-Wait!" Rin cried, standing up and putting his hands in front of him. "Before you give me detention and take points from Gryffindor, hear me out!"

McGonagall's nostrils flared. "I don't have time for any of your excuses, Okumura. Perhaps a week of detention -"

"There's been another attack!"

McGonagall stopped and gave Rin an incredulous look. "'Another attack'?" she repeated.

"Just like with Mrs. Norris!" Rin confirmed. "It's Shutter - I mean, Colin Creevey this time. Professor Dumbledore's with him."

"Show me."

The boy and his cat lead the teacher back to Professor Dumbledore who was patiently waiting for Rin to return. McGonagall's eyes widened at the sight of Colin's Petrified body.

"What's happened here, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"There has been another attack, Minerva," Dumbledore explained. "I will need your assistance in getting Mr. Creevey to the Hospital Wing."

"I'll help," Rin volunteered.

"No, Rin," Dumbledore stopped him. "I need you to run ahead to the Hospital Wing and alert Madam Pomfrey, like I told you before. Do not worry about Mr. Creevey. Professor McGonagall and I will manage to get him there."

Not wanting to argue with his headmaster (seriously, there was something about him that made Rin not want to argue with him), Rin nodded and ran ahead, Kuro once again at his heels. Rin's mind was reeling again. If the Heir of Slytherin had indeed struck again and Petrified Shutterbug, then that meant the pest was Muggleborn.

'_Made it!'_

Rin burst the doors open (although, he could have sworn he heard the familiar sound of a _crack!_ as he did so). Harry was sitting up in bed with his fist held out in front of him, like he was just holding something. Kuro hopped up onto the bed next to his.

"What's going on?" he asked. "What are you doing out after hours?"

"Tell you later," Rin hissed. "Lay down and pretend to be asleep. You'll find out soon."

Both boys heard Madam Pomfrey enter the room. Harry flopped back into bed. He pulled the covers back over him and rolled over.

"Mr. Okumura!" Madam Pomfrey hissed as she entered the room. "What on earth are you doing here? And after hours? There better be a good explanation for this!"

The doors opened again and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the Hospital Wing carrying Colin Creevey.

Madam Pomfrey gasped and hurried towards them. "What's happened?" she whispered to Dumbledore as he and McGonagall lowered Colin onto a bed.

"Another attack," Dumbledore answered. "Mr. Okumura and I found him on the stairs. I sent him ahead to inform you."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to see Potter."

Rin facepalmed. '_So that's what the grapes were for! Hero worship just like on TV!'_

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes," McGonagall confirmed. "I shudder to think… if Albus hadn't been escorting Mr. Okumura back to Gryffindor Tower… who knows what could have happened."

Rin made a note to have Dolly make some mochi for Professor Dumbledore for Christmas as a thank you gesture. His blue eyes landed on the camera in Colin's hands.

"Hey, do you think he might have taken a picture of the guy who did this to him?" he asked his teachers. The three adults looked at Rin before looking down at the first year.

Dumbledore managed to pry the camera from Colin's grip. He turned it over and opened the back. A jet of steam hissed out of the camera. The putrid smell of melted plastic assaulted Rin's nostrils.

"Melted," Madam Pomfrey breathed. "All melted…"

"Dammit," Rin growled.

"Language, Okumura," McGonagall warned. "What does this mean, Albus?" she asked urgently.

"It means," said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

This got Harry and Rin's attention. '_Again?!'_

Madam Pomfrey clapped her hands over her mouth. McGonagall stared at Dumbledore worriedly.

"But, Albus, surely… who?"

"The question is not who," said Dumbledore as he stared at Colin. "But how?"

The two second year students were just as puzzled as McGonagall.

~0~0~0~

Rin carried a sleeping Kuro back to Gryffindor Tower with Professor McGonagall escorting him. Both were silent after witnessing what just happened to Colin.

"Professor Dumbledore explained to me your efforts to get your 'problem' under control," she started. Rin looked up at his teacher in alarm. "Rest assured, Okumura, no one else knows of your plight, except myself and Professor Dumbledore. I am proud of you for addressing this problem immediately. The sooner it's handled, the better."

Rin looked down. "I just didn't want to burn Hogwarts to the ground," he muttered. "Professor, what's gonna happen to Colin?"

McGonagall sighed heavily. "Creevey will remain in the Hospital Wing until the Mandrakes are ready for the Restorative Draught," she answered.

"Any idea when they'll be ready?"

"You will have to ask Professor Sprout."

Rin nodded as he approached the Fat Lady's portrait. "Wattlebird. Good night, Professor."

"Good night, Mr. Okumura."

Rin disappeared into the portrait hole. The common room was empty. Embers in the fireplace still gave off the smallest of light. On a table, he saw that someone left out a wizard's chess set, a forgotten pair of glasses, and a copy of _Year with the Yeti_ on a table near the window. Rin smiled a little as he went upstairs to bed.

~0~0~0~

As soon as Harry was given the green light to leave the Hospital Wing the following morning, the first thing he did was head straight to Gryffindor Tower to tell Ron and Hermione about Colin and Dobby (maybe even Yukio if he bumped into him along the way). He was about to climb the stairs when he saw Professor Shura doing something to the stairs a few flights down. Curious, he went to see what she was doing.

"Professor Shura?"

Shura looked up from what she was doing. She was holding a scrap of paper with some blood on it. "Watch your step, Potter. You might step on him," she warned.

Harry looked down at the steps but saw nothing. "Step on what?" he inquired.

She lifted an eyebrow. "No temptaint?" she asked.

Harry shook his head no.

Shura sighed. "Then stay right where you are," she ordered. "I'm busy."

"With what?"

"I heard about what happened to Creevey this morning," Shura explained. "This is where he was found, according to the boss. He wants me to see if maybe my naga could give us a clue to who or what did this. I told him that whatever Petrified Creevey did the same thing to Mrs. Norris."  
"Dumbledore doesn't agree?" asked Harry.

Shura paused a moment to think before answering. "I think he just wants to make absolutely sure before calling in the Knights of the True Cross. Cross his T's and dot his I's, y'know? Remember, even badass wizards like Dumbledore aren't the best at _every_ branch of magic."

"You mean like demons and stuff like that?" asked Harry.

Shura nodded. "People tend to forget that fighting demons is still new to the wizarding world. The boss is just as new to this as all the other teachers at Hogwarts. I don't blame him for being super careful." She stared at the step in front of Harry. "Relax, Naga. The kid's cool, he won't hurt ya."

"Wh-Wha…?" Harry stuttered. "Who are you talking to?"

"Naga, my familiar," she said dismissively. She looked down at where Harry assumed her naga was and frowned. "Not again. It's the same here as the first attack."

Harry tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean, Professor?"

Shura put her hands on her hips. "What is it this time?" she asked no one in particular. She continued to stare at the step. She sighed resignedly and ripped her paper in two. A puff of smoke erupted from the step.

"Where did that smoke come from?" he asked.

"That smoke meant that he went back to Gehenna," Shura explained. "The same thing happened at Mrs. Norris's attack spot. I'd send Naga to scope out the place, then he'd curl up and refuse to do anything."

"Does he… say anything?" Harry hesitantly asked.

"Only that he refuses to help. Says he doesn't want to defy 'him' whoever 'him' is," Shura answered with an eyeroll.

~0~0~0~

"Did you hear what happened last night?" Terry Boot asked Yukio as the two of them walked downstairs to breakfast. "There was another attack!"

Yukio looked at his friend in shock. "Again? What happened?" he asked.

"How can you not know? It was on the message board in the common room," he said exasperatedly.

"A certain someone wanted to get to the Great Hall before all of the blueberry pancakes are gone," Yukio replied.

Terry briefly turned red before continuing. "A Gryffindor first year was found Petrified on the stairs last night."

Yukio suddenly panicked, thinking that Ginny was the victim. "Who was it?"

Terry scratched his head for a moment. "Can't remember his name. He was the one with the camera," he recalled.

Yukio silently released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Colin Creevey. My brother calls him Shutterbug."

"Poor kid," said Terry.

Yukio sweatdropped. "You realize he's only about a year younger than us, right?" he said. He suddenly saw Harry approach them. "'Morning, Harry," he greeted.

"Hey Yukio," Harry greeted back. "Could I talk to you for a moment? It won't take long."

Yukio looked at Terry who nodded.

"I'll see you down there, Yukio," said Terry.

"Save me some pancakes," said Yukio. As soon as Terry left, Yukio turned his attention to Harry. "What's going on?"

"Did you hear about what happened last night?" Harry started.

"Yeah. Terry and I were just talking about it. How's the rest of Gryffindor handling it?"

"Can't really say," said Harry. "I'm actually looking for your brother. Have you seen him?"

Yukio shook his head. "No, I haven't. Why?"

Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Rin was with Professor Dumbledore last night. They were the ones who found Colin," Harry explained in a soft voice.

Yukio's jaw dropped. "What?! What was Rin doing with Professor Dumbledore? What did he do this time? Is he in trouble?"

"That's why I'm looking for him," Harry answered. "Also, we both found out something important about the Chamber of Secrets."

"What? What is it?"

Harry looked around again before answering. He then recapped exactly what Dobby told him and what he overheard from the teachers last night.

"You mean this isn't the first time this has happened?" Yukio asked for clarity.

"That's what Dobby told me. Dumbledore just confirmed what he said," said Harry.

Yukio gripped his chin in thought. "This only confirms that Colin is Muggleborn. Should we be worried about Hermione? She's Muggleborn too which makes her a target," he said.

"We could, but you know Hermione. She won't let this go until she finds answers," said Harry.

Yukio chuckled. "Come Hell or high water."

* * *

**Now before anyone wonders why Harry can't hear Shura's naga, let me explain. Harry doesn't have a temptaint yet, so he can't see or hear other demons yet. This includes snake demons. The characters in the Blue Exorcist anime/manga could see and hear demons when they got temptaints. I think this should apply to Harry's 'ability' too.**

**Keep reviewing, people! If you're healthy, stay that way! If you have COVID-19, get well soon! We're rooting for you!**


	16. Frustration

**Sorry for the delay! I've been watching and rewatching Lucifer on Netflix lately. It's safe to say that I'm addicted to the show.**

**This chapter originally was gonna be the Dueling Club chapter but one thing led to another and this is the result. I've forgotten that things led up to the events of the Dueling Club. Plus, like I've said before, I have to occasionally make up events in this story while staying true to the original content (WHICH I DO NOT OWN! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THAT?).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Frustration**

"Rin!" Harry called out. The Japanese boy was leaving the Great Hall, licking his fingers after enjoying the blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Rin saw Harry and waved.

"Hey Harry!" The scarred boy managed to catch up to Rin. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you about last night."

Rin paused. "You mean about what happened to Shutterbug?" he asked for clarity. Harry nodded. Rin looked around to make sure no one was looking. "Okay, but not here." The two boys left the castle. Harry continued to follow Rin until they reached the shore of the lake.

As soon as Rin started skipping rocks, Harry spoke up again. "Rin?"

"So what did you want to talk about, Harry?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk about last night," Harry answered. "What were you doing with Professor Dumbledore so late at night?"

Rin skipped another rock into the lake before answering. "You know the blue flames that keep bursting out of me?" he asked, his tone not his usual happy-go-lucky one.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Rin was quiet for a long time before answering. "...I can't control them," he murmured.

Harry blinked. "'Can't control them'? What do you mean?"

_Skip, skip, skip…_

"Ever since last year I haven't been able to cast a single spell without blue flames being mixed in," Rin explained.

Harry nodded again. It made sense. For as long as Harry had known Rin, he was always setting things on fire. Never intentionally of course, but it was a constant source of frustration for the Japanese boy.

"So you're learning how to control them?" Harry asked. Rin nodded as he threw another rock into the lake. "And Dumbledore's been helping you?"

_SPLASH!_

Harry jumped at the sudden noise having become accustomed to the small sounds of skipping rocks. He didn't notice that Rin threw a huge rock into the water. Rin's bangs were hiding his eyes, his hands clenched into fists.

"He's trying," he said through gritted teeth. "We've been trying different ways to control them."

"And?"

"His latest guess is my desire to protect my friends," Rin answered.

Harry frowned. "That seems kind of cliche, don't you think?"

"I know! I feel like there has to be more to it than that but I don't know what!" Rin yelled in frustration. He threw another large rock into the lake.

Harry thought for a moment before speaking. "It kind of makes sense." Rin looked at him in confusion. "Hear me out. All those times we've seen the flames outside of class were when one of us was in trouble."

Rin thought for a moment. "I guess that makes sense. There was the first time rescuing Hermione from the troll," he recalled.

"Second time was in the Forbidden Forest when Quirrel tried to attack us," said Harry.

"And the third time was when we were all tangled in the Devil's Snare," Rin continued. "I remember hearing Ron being choked by it."

Harry especially remembered that time. As soon as the blue flames spread throughout the Devil's Snare, Harry was sure that he would be burnt to a crisp but he wasn't. In fact, the flames felt warm. His clothes weren't even singed.

"Then it happened again when we were fighting Voldemort and Professor Quirrel in the final chamber," Harry recalled.

Rin sighed heavily. "It seems like Dumbledore's right but… I still feel like there's still more to it."

"Do you think Yukio has any idea about the flames? He seemed pretty upset when he found out last year."

Rin shrugged. "Don't think so. He didn't mention it after we got home or throughout the summer," he answered.

"Weird," Harry muttered.

Rin sighed again. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's go back inside."

"Good idea. Let's find Ron and Hermione. Hopefully they've gotten started on the Polyjuice Potion," said Harry. The two boys started walking back towards the castle.

"Speaking of which, where are we making the potion?" asked Rin. "I doubt an empty classroom would be the safest place to make it. Anyone could find it."

~0~0~0~

Rin's eyebrow twitched as they entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Of all the places to make a secret potion, it had to be this place.

"We've decided this is the safest place to hide it," Ron explained.

"How's your arm, Harry?" asked Yukio.

"Fine," Harry answered.

"You guys started the potion already?" asked Rin.

"We heard what happened last night - we heard Professor McGonagall tell Flitwick about it this morning," Hermione explained.

"Terry saw the announcement on the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw common room," Yukio added. "My question for you, Rin, is what were you doing out after curfew with Professor Dumbledore?"

Ron and Hermione looked up from the potion.

"Is that where you were last night?" asked Ron.

"What did you do this time, Rin?" Hermione asked accusingly.

A tick mark appeared on Rin's head. "Seriously, Hermione? I don't get into trouble _that_ often!" Yukio coughed to hide a laugh. Rin caught that. "Got something you wanna add, Yukio?"

"You get into trouble more often than Harry or Ron," Yukio snickered.

"Do not!"

"How many times did you break Malfoy's nose last year?"

"I never got busted for that!"

"It cost Gryffindor a few points," Ron muttered.

"Only the first time!" Rin argued. "Besides, you were part of that fight too!"

"Drop it, both of you!" Hermione snapped.

Harry stepped in before it turned into a full-blown argument. "There's something you should know." Harry then explained what Dobby told him last night. Rin included additional details as well. By the time Harry was finished, Ron and Hermione's jaws were on the bathroom floor.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" asked Hermione.

"This settles it," Ron triumphantly said. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened it when he was at school here and now he's teaching dear old Draco how to do it."

Yukio gripped his chin. "When was the last time the chamber was opened? If it was, indeed, Lucius Malfoy, then the Chamber of Secrets had to have been opened twenty or thirty years ago," he assumed.

"That's why we need to get answers out of Malfoy as soon as possible," said Hermione.

Harry turned to Ron. "Have your parents mentioned anything about the Chamber of Secrets from when they were in school?"

Ron shook his head no. "Don't think so. Percy's written to them a few times since Mrs. Norris."

"And?" Rin pressed.

Ron shrugged resignedly. "Percy wouldn't say what Mum and Dad told him. Typical of him."

"Something tells me asking Percy would be a bad idea," Yukio muttered.

~0~0~0~

Shiro was just bidding his parishioners goodbye after a Sunday service. While he always gave it his all during each service, his heart was not in it today. He received a letter from Yukio a few weeks ago saying something happened on Halloween night. The groundskeeper's cat was Petrified.

'_Petrified? With a capital 'P'? What does that mean? And what's the Chamber of Secrets?'_

As soon as the last parishioner left, Shiro went to the backyard and sat down on a bench to think. The leaves in the trees had already turned a variety of warm colors, signaling that fall was here. It was times like these he wished he had an owl to contact Albus Dumbledore to ask him about what was going on at Hogwarts. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter addressed to Dumbledore and his cell phone. '_Maybe I should contact someone at the Magic Branch…'_

A Japanese scops owl landed on a high branch of one of the trees. He stared at Shiro with blood red eyes. He looked around to make sure no one was looking or listening.

"Think you can do me a favor?" he asked the bird.

The owl lowered his eyelids and tilted his head as if to say "I'm listening."

"I need to get a message to someone in Europe. He's a wizard and a good friend. Up for an international flight?" Shiro asked. The owl didn't answer, instead he tilted his head in the other direction. "You can have free access to the attic and backyard of all the mice and other vermin."

The owl let out a hoot and glided down to the empty spot on the bench next to Shiro. Having had experience attaching letters to owls in the past (all of them belonged to one of the Order of the Phoenix members), Shiro had no problem with this owl.

"Well if you're gonna be staying here, you're gonna need a name," he told the owl. The bird tilted his head again. Shiro studied the bird. He couldn't look away from the blood red eyes. "Sekigan. What do you think?"

The owl looked away in thought before hooting again enthusiastically.

Shiro chuckled. "Okay, Sekigan it is. It means 'red eye.' Now get going. Deliver that letter directly to Albus Dumbledore. He has a super long beard, you can't miss him."

Sekigan hooted again and took flight.

One of the priests, Tadami Misumi, approached Shiro and had witnessed Sekigan's departure.

"What was that about, Father Fujimoto?" the eldest priest asked Shiro.

Shiro turned to Tadami. "You saw that, huh?" He shrugged. "Yukio wrote to me, saying that something happened at school that has me concerned."

"I remember you reading it to us. You didn't use the owl that delivered Yukio's letter?"

"I told it that I didn't have a response at the time," Shiro explained. "Besides, I didn't send that letter to Yukio, it's going to Dumbledore."

"How do you know that it will take your letter to Dumbledore?" asked Tadami.

"It was flying around in the daytime and it understood everything I said," Shiro answered. "I won't always use him to deliver letters to Hogwarts. I think it's best if I used him to stay in touch with the Magic Branch. If something really is Petrifying students at Hogwarts, then we need to keep tabs on the place."

"Do we even know if it's a demon?"

"Yukio assures me that it wasn't a demon but it still puzzles me. Harry Potter was able to hear what Petrified the school groundskeeper's cat. Kuro was able to hear it too. The boys and their friends couldn't hear it though," Shiro explained.

"Does the boy have a temptaint?" asked Tadami. Shiro shook his head no. "Then how is a cat sidthe and a boy without a temptaint able to hear this creature, but Yukio, who has a temptaint, cannot?"

"That's the million yen question," Shiro grumbled.

"Shura's a teacher there, right? Perhaps she could look into it?"

"Harry told her about what he heard. As far as I know, she's probably looking into it after what happened on Halloween. All we can do is wait and see what happens," Shiro said resignedly.

* * *

**I decided to give Shiro an owl to communicate with Dumbledore. Wizards are very old school and Shiro can't just contact Hogwarts with a phone call (by the way, I'm very aware that the Harry Potter storyline and the Blue Exorcist storyline are decades apart but I've taken creative liberties so don't bother pointing that out).**

**Keep reviewing so we can beat COVID-19!**


	17. Duel

**This was NOT easy to write. Working overtime, a pandemic, and an election, oh my! Glad I'm done with this chapter, though. I've got plans for the next one already.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Duel**

December came faster than anyone in the group realized. Professor McGonagall came around collecting names of students who would be staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. Harry, Ron, and Hermione signed the list having heard that Malfoy was also staying which raised red flags for the group. Unfortunately for Rin and Yukio, they were heading home again for the holidays as well as their birthday.

Rin and Hermione were spending their free time making sure the Polyjuice Potion was ready. It was almost done, they just needed a bicorn horn and boomslang skin. The problem was that the only place they could find them was in Snape's storage room. Harry would rather face Slytherin's monster than risk getting caught robbing Snape's office.

"Could we, perhaps, substitute the ingredients?" asked Yukio.

Rin shook his head no. "This isn't like cooking, Yukio. One wrong ingredient in a potion could affect the whole thing," he explained. "Substituting potion ingredients could change how the Polyjuice Potion works. For all we know, it could poison them instead of changing them into Slytherins." Yukio blinked at his brother's explanation. He could count on one hand how many times Rin said something _that_ intelligent.

"What we need is a diversion," Hermione said briskly. They were about to part ways with Yukio, who had Charms next with the Hufflepuffs.

Yukio was starting to see what Hermione was thinking. "If someone made a diversion, then one of you can sneak into Snape's office and take what you need," he realized.

The boys looked at each other nervously.

"I think I should do the stealing," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Harry, Ron, you two will be expelled if you get into any more trouble and I've got a clean record. All Rin has to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for about five minutes or so."

Rin faltered. "Me?! Why do I have to distract Snape? My record isn't exactly spotless either, you know!" he exclaimed.

"You didn't drive a flying car into the Whomping Willow," said Yukio. "All you have are fights and broken noses."

A tick mark appeared on Rin's head. "Why do you guys keep bringing that up?"

"Please Rin?" Hermione pleaded.

Everyone was giving Rin pleading looks. Now that he thought about it if Harry or Ron created a diversion, Snape would undoubtedly suspect them and they'd get into huge trouble. Add the fact their records were terrible this year, a simple prank would probably get them into heavy duty trouble. Rin had been in a few unimportant scuffles this year but that only cost Gryffindor a few points.

Rin sighed. "Fine. I'll do it," he said, "but I need an idea."

Ron noticed Fred and George coming out of History of Magic and went over to them. The four of them watched and waited for their redheaded friend to return. When he did, he had a Filibuster Firework in his hand.

"How's this for a diversion?" Ron slyly asked.

"Brilliant!" Harry praised.

"Perfect!" Rin added.

"Think you can conjure a flame to light this?" Hermione asked, causing Yukio to look at her in shock.

"I can try," Rin answered. "If not, I'll use the flames from the fire heating our potion."

~0~0~0~

The heist was a success. Rin managed to fire the firework into Goyle's cauldron while Snape wasn't looking (he didn't want to risk Snape getting a glimpse of his flames so he used the safe route of using the cauldron fire instead). It caused the perfect amount of mayhem to keep the Potions Master busy while Hermione slipped into his office to retrieve the ingredients. Snape vowed to expel the culprit when he found them. The four Gryffindors used their best puzzled expressions to seem as innocent as possible.

Hermione dumped the ingredients into the Polyjuice Potion and proudly announced that it would be ready in about two weeks.

A week later, the five friends were crossing the entrance hall when they noticed several students crowding around the notice board. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas noticed them and beckoned them over.

"What's going on?" asked Yukio.

"They're starting a Dueling Club!" Seamus announced excitedly. "First meeting's tonight! I wouldn't mind dueling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days…"

Ron read the sign. "What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" he asked skeptically.

Yukio shrugged. "Could be useful; give us a chance to learn how to protect ourselves," he suggested. "Shall we go?"

Rin nodded. "I'm up for it!" he said eagerly. "We could learn a new spell or something!"

Hermione giggled. "As long as you don't set anything on fire."

A tick mark appeared on his head. "Lay off!" Rin barked.

~0~0~0~

"I wonder who will be teaching us?" Hermione asked that evening. Several students had gathered in the Great Hall. All of them had brought their wands and looked very eager to begin.

"Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young," Ron informed. "Maybe it'll be him."

Yukio nodded. "It would make sense. I've heard him share many dueling stories."

"As long as it's not -" Harry started but ended with a groan.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rin exclaimed in disbelief.

Gilderoy Lockhart walked onto the stage, wearing deep plum robes, and accompanied by none other than Professor Snape, wearing his usual black robes.

Lockhart had his trademark smile on his face as he waved an arm to silence the crowd. "Gather round! Gather round! Can you all see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works."

"As soon as he writes something useful in them," Rin muttered to his brother who chuckled.

The two teachers walked onto the stage and demonstrated how to properly duel.

"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron muttered to his friends.

Yukio snorted. "'Good?' It would be a blessing." All four boys snickered. Hermione just sneered at them.

Lockhart and Snape faced each other and bowed. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you can see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative positions," Lockhart explained to the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Harry muttered, watching Snape bare his teeth. Harry leaned towards Yukio and Ron. "I think you're both onto something. It would be a blessing if they finished each other off." Both of them had to muffle their laughter.

"One… Two… Three!"

Both teachers waved their wands above their heads and pointed them at each other.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Snape cried out. A flash of red light shot out of Snape's wand and blasted Lockhart off the stage. Malfoy and the Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on her tiptoes trying to get a look at Lockhart.

"Do you think he's alright?" Hermione squealed through her fingers.

"Who cares?" the four boys responded.

Lockhart clumsily got back to his feet. "Well, there you have it!" he said, unsteadily getting back onto the stage. "That was the Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown…"

"Ex… expellarm… no…" Rin tried to recite.

"It's ex-pell-i-arm-us," Hermione gently explained. "Imagine there's an S in there. It almost sounds like the word 'spell' is in there."

"Exs… expelliarmus!" Rin tried again.

Hermione smiled. "There you are," she praised.

Yukio looked at Hermione. "That was impressive. How did you do that?" he asked.

The two teachers wandered around the room, splitting the students into pairs. Slytherin girl Izumo Kamiki was paired with poor Shiemi. Neville was paired with a Hufflepuff boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley. Snape then approached the five friends.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think," he sneered. Yukio put his hand on Rin's shoulder to keep him from doing anything rash. Snape, misunderstanding the gesture between the twins, shook his head. "Don't even think about it, you two. Yukio Okumura, you can partner with Shima. Rin Okumura, you partner with Suguro."

Rin's jaw practically fell to the floor. "Suguro?! He'll kick my ass!" he exclaimed.

Snape gave the blue-haired boy a nasty little grin. "Consider this a learning experience then." He then moved on to the others. "And watch your tongue, Okumura. I will not warn you again." Snape then partnered Ron with Seamus, Hermione with Millicent Bulstrode whom Rin recognized as one of Shiemi's tormentors. Harry, unsurprisingly, was paired with Malfoy.

As Malfoy strutted over to Harry, Rin walked towards Suguro, dragging his feet. For a guy who always had a scowl on his face, Suguro looked pretty smug.

"You're not acting as confident as the last time I met you," said Suguro.

Rin scowled. "Maybe it's because I have to duel your sorry ass!" he responded.

Suguro smirked. "It'll be your ass that will be sorry."

"Face your partners!" Lockhart called out from the stage. "And bow!"

Rin and Suguro bowed like two adults would have in Japan.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents, and only disarm - we don't want any accidents! - one, two, three!"

"_Expelli_ -" Rin started but Suguro beat him to it.

"_Furnunculus_!" he shouted. A gold light shot out of Suguro's wand, hitting Rin in the face. Rin stumbled but remained standing. He then felt pimples sprout all over his face. Suguro smirked.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted as the room erupted into a battlefield.

Rin scowled and pointed his wand at Suguro. "_Diffindo_!" he recited. Pink light, mixed with familiar blue sparks, shot out of his wand. It hit Suguro's waist, knocking him over. He got back up, but before he could strike back, his pants fell down to his ankles, revealing light blue briefs with yellow ducks on them.

Suguro's face turned as red as Ron's hair. Rin couldn't help but laugh through his giant pimples. "You look dumber than me! Ducks?!" he laughed. He had to remember to tell Fred and George the benefits of the Severing Charm.

Suguro gave Rin a look deadlier than anything he had seen. "You're dead, Okumura," he growled.

Shiemi, meanwhile, laid on the floor stiff as a board while Izumo lazily inspected her nails. It was clear she made quick work of Shiemi by using the Full Body-Bind Curse. Shima was covered in fur while Yukio had many more moles on his body, so much so that he looked like he had a severe case of chickenpox.

"Stop! Stop!" Lockhart cried.

Snape took over and put a stop to the madness. "_Finite Incantatem_!" he shouted.

A haze of green smoke filled the room. The effects of everyone's spells were immediately reversed. Rin's face cleared up, Yukio was back to having three moles on his face, Shima was no longer covered in fur, and Shiemi was able to move again. Suguro quickly pulled his pants up before anyone noticed.

"Dear, dear…" Lockhart muttered as he looked at the aftermath of the multiple duels. "I think I better teach you all how to block unfriendly spells." He looked over the students. "Let's have a volunteer pair - Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you…"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," Snape said. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Finch-Fletchley to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox."

"Very well. How about Okumura and Suguro?"

"Okumura's spells cause just as much devastation, if not more," Snape replied. "His tendency to set things on fire would undoubtedly send Suguro to the Hospital Wing with third degree burns at best." Neville and Rin's faces turned bright pink at those statements. "How about Malfoy and Potter?" he suggested with a twisted smile.

"Excellent idea!" Lockhart said, gesturing Harry and Malfoy to the center of the room as the crowd backed away to give them space. Rin took this opportunity to shuffle back to his fellow Gryffindors before Suguro unleashed his revenge on him.

"Think Harry will kick Malfoy's ass?" Rin asked his friends.

"Absolutely!" Ron exclaimed.

"If all else fails, he can use his fists," said Seamus.

Neville frowned. "That's not very sportsmanlike," he stated.

Rin rolled his eyes. "Malfoy's a Slytherin. Everything he does is unsportsmanlike."

"Three… two… one… Go!" Lockhart shouted.

Malfoy quickly raised his wand and bellowed, "_Serpensortia_!"

A long, black snake shot out of the tip of the wand, startling Harry as well as everyone in the room. It slithered about, ready to strike anyone who was close enough to it. Lockhart tried to get rid of it but it only made the magically conjured reptile angrier. It hissed furiously and viciously and it slithered towards Justin.

What happened next was rather both startling and amazing for Rin. Harry approached the snake and started hissing and spitting at it as if he were communicating with it. Miraculously, the snake then lowered its body to the ground and went docile.

"What do you think you're playing at?" Justin shouted at Harry. The Hufflepuff boy then stormed out of the room.

"What the heck just happened?" Rin asked.

"I never would have guessed," Dean muttered.

"I can't believe my ears," Seamus breathed.

"The hell are you guys talking about?" Rin asked irritably.

Yukio grabbed the back of Rin's shirt collar and dragged him out of the room, Ron dragging Harry behind him. Hermione led them into an empty classroom where Ron pushed Harry into a desk chair.

"You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked.

Harry blinked. "I'm a what?"

"A Parselmouth!" Ron repeated. "You can talk to snakes!"

"I know," Harry said like it was nothing. "I mean, I've accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo. So what? I bet loads of people can do it."

"That's so cool!" Rin exclaimed in awe.

"It's not 'cool!'" Ron exclaimed. "This is bad."

Harry frowned in confusion. "How is it bad? If I hadn't told that snake to leave Justin alone -"

"That's what you told it?" asked Yukio.

"You heard me!"

"We heard you speaking Parseltongue," said Ron. "Snake language."

"I didn't know snakes had their own language," said Rin.

Yukio gripped his chin. "I can see why Justin freaked out. In his eyes, you were probably egging the snake on. Plus, it sounded kind of creepy."

"I spoke another language?!" Harry gaped. "I didn't know - I didn't realize - how can I speak another language without knowing it?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other like someone had died.

Yukio released an irritated sigh. "Could you two fill us in on what's going on?"

"Yeah, why is telling the snake not to hurt Justin a bad thing?" Rin added.

"Being able to talk to snakes is what Salazar Slytherin was famous for," Hermoine finally spoke. "That's why the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent."

"What?!" Harry and the Okumura twins cried.

"Exactly," said Ron. "Now the whole school will think you're his great-great-grandson or something."

"But I'm not!" Harry exclaimed in a panicked tone.

"He can't be," said Yukio.

Hermione shook her head. "You'll find that hard to prove. He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be."

"Then why is Harry in Gryffindor and not in Slytherin?" Rin asked in anger.

No one saw Harry shuffle uncomfortably in his seat.

* * *

**I'm actually proud of this one. I'm already replaying a scene for the next chapter in my head over and over. Now I just need to think of what else should be added to said chapter.**

**Hope everyone's safe and healthy, especially in the US. This election is crazy to put it mildly. **

**Keep reviewing. I need something to keep myself sane.**


End file.
